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C AB OOL: 



PERSONAL NARRATIVE 



JOUENEY TO, AND EESIDENCE 
IN THAT CITY, 

IN THE YEARS 1336, 7, and 8. 



BY THE LATE 

Lieut. Col. SIR ALEXANDER BURNES, C.B.,&c. 

OF THE INDIA COMPANY'S SERVICE. 



FROM THE SECOND EDITION. 
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. 




PHILADELPHIA: 

CAREY AND HART 

1S43. 



- 



4* 



'b 



5 v 



T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, Printers, 
No. 1 Lodge Alley. 



CONTE NTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Objects of the Mission — Departure from Bombay — Arrival in Sinde — Instructions — Embedded 
ship — Changes in the Indus — Reminiscences — Tame Otter — Vikkur — Pelican — Fish — The 
Boolun, or porpoise — Singular ceremony — Peer Putta — Tattd — Chief of the Jokeeas — Super- 
stition— Ramazan — Condition of the Hindoos — Kulan Cote — Ruins — Sumovee Nuggur — Kin- 
jore — Presentation to the Ameers of Sinde — Conference — Hydr&b&d — Old acquaintances. 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Hunting excursion with the Ameers — Camel-riding — Costumes — Accident — Mode of hunting — 
Murderous sport — Lakat — Amusements — Hawking — Sehwun — Moral degradation — Geology 
— Natural history — New companions — Larkhanu— Dr. Lord — Ameer of Khyrpoor — Sindian 
dance — Ghoolam Nubee Kh&n — Deejee — Maraschino, a new medicine — Antelope hunting — 
Sindian falcons — Bukkur. ........ 17 

CHAPTER III. 

Sukkur — Shikarpoor — Its commercial communications, population, bazars, &c. — River festival — 
Beauties — Character of the people — Wild tribes — Muzarees — A chief— Native song — Crocodile- 
steaks — Alligators — Mittuncote — Bhawul Khan, chief of Bhawulpoor — A French adventurer, 
Mons. Argoud — Mahommedan convent — Don Jose* Gonsalvez, our artist — Runjeet Sing's offi- 
cers — Kind reception — The Indus at Mittun — Dera Ghazee Khan — District of Deerajat — Its 
great importance — Lohanee Afghans — Their routes — The " Gates of Khorasan" — Traffic ot 
Dera Ghazee Khan — Vicinity — Bazars. . . . . .■ .25 

CHAPTER IV. 

Battle between the Afghans and Sikhs — Departure from Dera Ghazee — Baber's routes — Voyage 
upwards — Sungur — Gurung — Dera Ismael Khan — Bazars, &c. — Corps de ballet — Donna of 
the Indus — Voyage to Kala Bagh — Romantic country — Kussoeree hills — Singular formation 
— Villages — Sooleeman range. ........ 36 

CHAPTER V. 

Our critical position— State of the country— Influence of the Sikhs— The Euzoofzyes and their 
Chief— Plain of Peshawur— Futtighur— The Khuttuks— Kala Bagh— Eesa Khyl Afghans— 
The Wuzarees— Ascent of the Indus— Coal deposits — Excessive heat — Duncote— Husn Abdal 
—Dr. Falconer— Arrival at Attock. ....... 40 

CHAPTER VI. 

Cross the Attock— Khyrabad and fort— Bridge of the Indus— Inscriptions at Hund— Arrival at 
Peshawur— Reception by General Avitabile— Prince Kurruck Sing— Review of his troops— A 
Peshawuree's story— Changes by the Sikhs— Curious incident— Arrival at Jumrood— Enter 
the Khyber Pass— Ali Musjid— Duka — Visit from the chiefs— Customs of the Khyberees— 



8 CONTENTS. 

Bassoul — Kuju — Its pomegranates — Gundamuk — Anecdote of Nadir Shah — Hyat — An old 
friend — A facetious Mooftee — Meet Mr. Masson — Arrival at Cabool — Cordial reception. 46 

CHAPTER VII. 

Interview witli Dost Mahommed Khan — Gracious reception by the Ameer — Nawab Jubar Khan 
— State of affairs at Cabool — Siege of Herat — A Russian agent — Fears and hopes of the 
Ameer — Alchymy — Famous swords — Visit Koh-damun and Kohistan — Istalif — Its fine 
scenery — Wild inhabitants — Blood feuds and customs — Chareekar — Pass of Hindoo Koosh — 
Mines of Fureenjal — Ghorbund and Purwan rivers — Value of irrigation — Expenses of farm- 
ing — Reg Ruwan — Frequency of earthquakes — Objects of our tour — Begram — Topes — Water- 
fowl and animals — Return to Cabool. . . . . . . .53 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Cabool — Agent from Moorad Beg of Koondooz — Letter from the Chief— His change of policy — 
Answer given to it — The Envoy's character of his Chief — Dr: Lord's journey to Koondooz — 
Extracts from his letters — Arrival and reception — Conversations with Moorad Beg — The 
invalid's a hopeless case — The Chief's friendship — Lieutenant Wood's journey — Syud of 
Talikhan, the friend of Moorcroft — Atalik Beg — Moorcroft's books, &c. — Date of his death — 
Mr. Trebeck's character — Customs of Uzbeks — Marriages — Man-selling — Traffic in wives — 
Mode of salaam — Circumcision — Enormous eatings — Horse-racing and prizes — Amusements. 
;........ 61 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Siah-poosh Kaffirs — Character and customs — Mode of life — Language — Inscriptions at 
Bajour — Idols — Cashgar — Commerce — Climate — Clouds of red dust — The hot sand of Aksoo 
— Khoten — Kokan — Maimanu — Andkho — Shibbergam — Siripool — Akehu — Huzara country — 
Population and descent — Customs — Curious tradition. . . . .73 

CHAPTER X. 

Our occupations at Cabool — Visit to " a Country Gentleman" — His estate — Our party — A Mool- 
lah — His ingenuity — Visit to the Mirza — Peculiar science— Summary marriage — Riches a 
proof of ability — Ladies of Cabool — Employments — Ameer's sisters — A murder and punish- 
ment — Courageous female — The winter season — Lohanee merchants — Cruelty of the King of 
Bokhara — Horrid dungeons — Acquaintance of Mr. Elphinstone — The Ramazan — Opinions on 
death — Belief in dreams — Traditions — A Persian envoy— His adventures — Rejoicings — A 
Bokhara merchant's tea-party. ........ 82 

CHAPTER XI. 

Russian agent, Lieutenant Vilkievitch — Distribution of our party — Vicinity of Cabool — Pillars 
of Chukreea — Mr. Masson's researches — Ancient history of Cabool — Idols and Hindoo re- 
mains — Gurdez — Geographical memoirs — Dialects — Herat — Major Pottinger — Delay in In- 
dian courts — Kuzzilbash secretaries — A Moollah's tenets — Mode of lighting houses — Mild 
Winter— Early Spring — Idle habits— The Ameer's position— Change of policy— My departure 
from Cabool— Arrival at JelaJa.ba.d- River of Cabool— Our rafts— The Shutee Gurdun— 
Peshawur — Ajrival at Lahore — Runjeet Sing — Join the Governor-General at Simla. . 90 



C ABOOL, 



CHAPTER I. 

Objects of the Mission — Departure from Bombay — Arrival in Sinde — Instructions — Embedded 
ship — Changes in the Indus — Reminiscences — Tame Otter — Vjkkur — Pelican — Fish — The 
Boolun, or porpoise — Singular ceremony — Peer Putta — Taltii — Chief of the Jokeeas — Super- 
stition— Ramazdn — Condition of the Hindoos — Kulan Cote — Ruins — Sumovee Nuggnr — Kin- 
jore — Presentation to the Ameers of Sinde — Conference — Hydr&bad — Old acquaintances. 

In the latter end of November, 1836, I was directed by the Governor-General 
of India, the Earl of Auckland, to undertake a mission to Gabool. Lieutenant 
(now Major) Robert Leech of the Bombay Engineers, Lieutenant John Wood of 
the Indian Navy, and Percival B. Lord, Esq., M. B., were associated with me in the 
undertaking. The objects of Government were to work out its policy of opening 
the river Indus to commerce, and establishing on its banks, and in the countries 
beyond it, such relations as should contribute to the desired end. On the 26th of 
November we sailed from Bombay, and, sighting the fine palace at Mandivee on 
the 6th of December, we finally landed in Sinde on the 13th of the month. Dr. 
Lord did not join our party till March. 

On entering the river Indus I drew up such instructions as seemed necessary to 
guide Lieutenants Leech and Wood. To the former I pointed out the advisability 
of noting all the military features of the country, and recording all the information 
which he could collect; to the latter I intrusted entirely the survey of the river, and 
to both I gave instructions to combine the advancement of general knowledge with 
a correct discharge of the specific duties on which they were employed. To Dr. 
Lord the branches of natural history and geology were subsequently assigned; 
but, as the published reports of this mission serve to show, the abilities of this 
much-lamented public servant were likewise enlisted on subjects certainly not more 
important, but of more immediate and pressing interest. I must refer to the 
printed papers before Parliament, and those reports to which I have already 
alluded, for the nature of the duties which devolved upon myself. With the dry 
diplomatic details which they contain I have no intention of fatiguing the reader. 
It is sufficient for me to have the satisfaction of believing that I kept open, for a 
time, the door of inquiry through which others entered. The object of the present 
volume is to give the personal and miscellaneous details of our journey. 

Shortly after disembarking on the coast of Sinde an opportunity was presented 
us of examining a square-rigged vessel, which had been imbedded in the Delta of 
the Indus, and left, by the caprice of the river, on dry land, about twenty miles 
from the sea, near the fort of Vikkur, where it has lain since the time of the Ca- 
loras, the dynasty preceding that which now reigns in Sinde. This vessel, called 
"Armat" by the Sindians, is about 70 feet long and 28 in breadth: she seems to 
have been a brig of war, pierced for fourteen guns, and capable of carrying not 
more than 200 tons English; her greatest draft of water, marked on the stern-post, 
being only 9 feet, which is less than is drawn by some of the present country- 
boats of 40 tons (160 candies). It is, however, obvious that the Indus was at 



10 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

one time entered by vessels of a different description from those now in use, as 
this half-fossilized ship, if I can so call her, amply proves. The word " Armat" 
suggests the idea that the vessel was Portuguese, and that it is a corruption of Ar- 
mada. There was also a Roman Catholic cross on the figure-head, and we know 
that the Portuguese burned Talta in 1555, though this vessel, I imagine, belongs 
to a much later period of the history of that nation. We dug up from her hold 
six small brass guns, about twenty gun-barrels, and four hundred balls and shells, 
the latter filled with powder. These implements of war were found near the stern 
in the armoury, so that it is probable the vessel foundered: her position is now 
erect; and a large tamarisk-tree grows out of her deck. The sailors call her 
" No.u Khureed," or the new purchase, and state her to have been left last century 
in her present site, where she remains a singular object. 

Since my former visit to Sinde much of the jealousy of its government had 
disappeared, though enough still existed to render some degree of caution neces- 
sary. We however conversed freely with the people at the seaports, and some of 
them were old enough to remember the names of the English which they had 
heard from their fathers. They mentioned those of Calender, Baker, Erskine, and 
Smith, as near as I can approximate Sindian pronunciation to English; and they 
told us that there were still the remains of an Englishman's tomb at Uehra. The 
records of government state that Mr. Calender was the gentleman who withdrew 
the factory from Sinde in 1775, " as we had before experienced some instances of 
the arbitrary disposition of the prince" — so that the present generation had not 
mistaken the traditions handed down to them. They seemed willing and ready 
aarain to welcome us as rulers; nor has the gratification of their wishes been long 
delayed, Sinde being no longer connected with Britain by a commercial factory 
only, but having become one of the tributary states of our mighty Indian empire. 

The Indus had undergone various alterations since I saw it in 1831: but, from 
all that I can gather, I have doubts whether any of the vast changes surmised by 
Captain Macmurdo have taken' place in this river. That the water has shifted 
from one mouth to another is certain: but the number of its mouths must long have 
been much the same as at present, since, in a chart published by Captain Dal- 
rvmple in 1783, I can distinguish eleven or twelve of the embouchures by the 
names they yet bear. It is also very questionable if the Indus were ever entered 
by such ships as navigate the Hoogly branch of the Ganges. Still there is ample 
depth in its estuaries to give encouragement to the merchant to seek, by this line, 
with properly constructed vessels, a new channel for the exports of our country. 

Among our earliest visitors on the river was one Cassim, who had been per- 
mitted to stop on board our boats in the pittee, in January, 1831, and now begged 
to remain in our service. The sight of this man brought to my remembrance the 
unpleasant feelings of that night, when we were hurried down the river by ignorant 
men shouting and yelling: nevertheless I was glad to see Cassim again. We were 
visited also by the owners of three or four boats (Doondees), who had sailed with 
us to Bukkur, and again sought to be employed by us: one of them, Ibraheem by 
name, son of one of the owners, had grown up a fine young man; and as I stepped 
on shore he greeted me with a laughing welcome, and placed some Indian corn at 
ray feet in renewal of our acquaintance. Self-interest may sway these people, still 
it is agreeable to meet with such expressions of kindly feeling. 

In the evening I went out to look for some of the " rarae aves" of Sinde, and on 
the banks of the Gora presented my gun at a singular looking creature; but, for- 
tunately, curiosity held me, and I discovered it to be a tame otter searching for his 
evening meal, and devouring a fish which he had caught. The owner of this 
animal presented it to us, and it became as domesticated as a dog, and made the 
voyage with us as far as Bukkur; but it suffered from the change of diet, as we 
were unable to catch fish for it in the large river. It had also been so constantly 
tormented by the sailors and servants that its temper was spoiled, and we were 
obliged to get rid of it. In following up this river, the Gora, I found myself about 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. H 

two miles from Vikkur at its termination; and, entering its bed on horseback, I 
rode for two miles farther, when I reached the main Indus. This fact deserves 
notice, for by this very branch I sailed into the river in 1831, since which time 
layers of mud, deposited by each succeeding inundation, have worked this change. 

On the 24th of December we quitted Vikkur, and, entering the Seeam, now the 
favoured branch, had a pleasant sail for two days between its well-wooded banks. 
There, in the morning, the larks sang as clearly and loudly as in Europe, and their 
notes, with the slow hollow sounds of the bells hanging from the necks of the 
buffaloes, as we wandered among the tamarisk-shrubs, were soothing to our ear. 
It was here that we added the pelican to our small collection of natural history. 
This bird is often tamed in the Delta of the Indus. It stood four feet high, mea- 
sured nine feet eight inches from tip to tip of its wings, and was the largest bird, 
except the ostrich, which I had ever seen. The pelican of the Gulf of Persia and 
the Red Sea is white, but on the Indus it is of a grayish brown. This bird 
swallows with difficulty, and only when the fish is so placed that it will descend 
endways into the stomach. 

In our wanderings on shore we always visited the " rajs," or villages of the 
inhabitants, and every one left his occupations on our approach to greet us with a 
good-humoured smile. If any of us killed a crow on the wing, no difficult task 
assuredly, we were pronounced " Hakim and bad shah," ruler and king. The 
round flat turban of the Juts, and their peculiar expression of countenance, calm 
and placid, present a study for the pencil. They are industrious, and very expert 
in reed or basket work, which they weave from the twigs of the tamarisk, and fit 
into all their vessels, thus rendering them dry and comfortable. At one of these 
villages we purchased from our boatmen two loads of fish, about eighty in number, 
for one rupee. The distribution was made with great pains: the fish were first 
divided into two lots; an indifferent person then took two bits of clay of different 
sizes, the parties guessed, and they were delivered accordingly. Each lot was 
again subdivided into three more shares, and much the same ceremony gone through; 
after which the fishes were with all haste transferred to the cooking-pot, the men 
chopping off the scales with an axe — a formidable instrument for so delicate an 
affair. The fish were chiefly what are called " dumbree." 

Our entrance into the great river was first distinguished by the rolling of the 
"boolun," a kind of porpoise, by far the most remarkable inhabitant of the Indus, 
and which I have only once had an opportunity of catching alive. It is well de- 
scribed by the Emperor Baber as the " water-hog," which it much resembles while 
playing in its element. It is evidently of the order Cetacea. The temperature of 
the Indus was 58°, whilst that of the small branch we had left was 62°. 

The solemnity with which the Sindians navigate their mighty river never ceases 
to amuse the voyager. In any part of it where it is necessary to give the boat an 
extra pull, the " meerbur" or master calls out "Shah hash puhleewan!" "Bravo, 
my heroes!" and gravely promises to have their beards dyed fresh on the termina- 
tion of the voyage; and there is as much zeal and industry displayed as if an 
enemy instead of a river were to be opposed. In turning a corner of the stream 
one vessel grounded about fifty yards from the shore, and threw up a wave five or 
six inches high, which moved steadily along until it met the bank. Lower down 
this becomes the " bore," which is so formidable; only there the causes spring 
from nature, and not accident. It is curious to notice the boats of Sinde, made of 
foreign wood, as in Egypt: the latter country is supplied from Syria, and the former 
from India — another point of resemblance between the two countries, in addition 
to the many that have been remarked. 

On the 3 1st of December we passed Noora Kanode, and halted near a sugar- 
plantation about seven miles from Peer Putta. They water the cane day and. 
night by two sets of Persian wheels, one above the other. A camel turned the 
first, and two bullocks the other, while one man attended both. If the animals, 
which were blinded, could have seen, they would assuredly have expected more 



12 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

attention. In Sinde they never advance further in the preparation of the cane than 
molasses. We passed inland to visit the shrines at Peer Putta, a vast collection 
of whitened tombs on a ridge of hillocks, overlooking the Buggaur branch of the 
Indus, on which they stand, and the neighbouring country, which is a dense jun- 
gle of tamarisk. This place of pilgrimage is stated to be 800 years old, and is 
frequented by Hindoo and Mahometan. On taking off our shoes we were readily 
admitted, and civilly treated. On the walls of one of the principal shrines we saw 
the name of " Henry Ellis, 1809," one of Mr. Hankey Smith's assistants, and 
lately our ambassador at the court of Persia. Under Peer Putta the Buggaur lay 
before us in a fine and deep expanse of water — a clear proof of its communication 
"with the Indus a few months before; though, at this season, the water was stagnant, 
and the sand-banks at its mouth prevented the further ingress of the stream, yet 
this year boats from Hala have passed down it to the sea laden with chaunia 
(alkali). 

On New Year's Day we reached Tatta, to which the river was now tending, 
and will probably adjoin before this century closes. My old political antagonist, 
Zoolfkar Shah, whom I had expected to meet, had paid the debt of nature but 
seven days before we arrived. I had brought, at his request, some candlesticks for 
him from Bombay; but, poor man! he requires no more the light of sun or torch 
in this darkened world. I wished much to have seen this accomplished Asiatic 
under the altered circumstances of our present visit, and hoped for his aid in gather- 
ing information of this once great but ruined emporium. The Nuwab of Tatta 
and a confidential servant of the rulers received us instead of the poor Syud, and 
showed the way to the city. We entered without pomp or suite; the inhabitants 
shouted out welcomes to us, and besought us to " come and people this desert:" 
one man said, " What is there to took at in this wilderness? Come, and it will 
flourish under the English." Others said, but more softly, that the rulers were 
blind; and a perfumer called out to us to purchase his rose-water, as there were no 
buyers left. They facetiously tell you that from Curachee to Hyderabad, by land 
or by sea, there is nothing left to the poor man, and but half to the rich. Since 
1831, the cholera has desolated Tatta, but it is deemed throughout Sinde one of 
the lowest and most unhealthy sites: the wells and water are generally fetid: there 
is also much stagnant water; and even in the winter the mists of the morning are 
disagreeable. 

One of our first visitors was the chief of the Jokeeas, Jam Mihr Alee, who had 
come from the hills west of Tatta, where his tribe leads a nomade life, to provide 
us with a guard. The Jam was a stout man of advanced age, with a beard dyed 
with henna — an uncouth being, who seemed mightily delighted at hearing from me 
a few words in bad Sindee. Although this was a Jokeea of rank, it will be seen 
he retained the Hindoo title of Jam. On his taking leave some medicines were 
given to him, which secured his good offices; and he shortly sent a dozen of his 
tribe to escort us. Wild and uncouth-looking and long-haired as they are, they are 
famed for their fidelity. In the portrait of Peroz I shall present the tribe better to 
my readers than by description. With his men the Jam sent a fine buck, slung 
across the saddle of one of his horsemen, and in return we gave him powder to 
continue his sporting avocations. The specimen which these Jokeeas shortly gave 
us of their ball practice left no favourable opinion of their skill. At ninety yards 
every one of them missed a bottle: the distance was lessened, but the result was 
the same; and then it was gravely discovered that the shots had been fired in the 
direction of Mecca, which rendered success impossible. The practice was con- 
tinued from an opposite point of the compass, but with equally bad success. We 
were vastly amused at this trait of superstition, and at the crest-fallen looks of the 
mountaineers, who had been boasting loudly of their skill; but all Sindians are 
given to gasconade: if a dozen people live together, they call their dwelling a city 
(shuhur); and if eight or ten of our party moved about anywhere, they were de- 
signed an army (lushkur). Besides these Jokeeas, our only escort in this length- 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 13 

ened journey consisted of a dozen Arabs, and six Myanas or plunderers from 
ditch. Accompanied by these children of the desert and the mountaineers of 
Sinde, we saw no foes. The constitution of such a guard affords some subject for 
reflection as to the state of British influence in India. 

At Tatta many Moolas visited us, and brought, on our inquiring for them, va- 
rious books for sale. Among the volumes I found the " Chuch-namu," and " Tooh- 
fut aol Kiramee," both histories of Sinde: but the major part of their stores con- 
sisted of commentaries on the Koran, prayer books, and poetry, though I doubt 
not that a diligent search here would be well rewarded. Our principal guide was 
one Mirza Gool Mahomed, a scion of the great Mirza Eesa Toorkhanee, and who, 
though poverty-stricken, yet possessed " furmans" of Shah Jehan. Literature in 
this region has decayed with commerce and population. During our stay the 
" eed," or festival at the termination of Ramazan, occurred; and the whole assem- 
blage at the place of public prayers did not exceed 2000 souls. No Hindoo ven- 
tures out on such an occasion in Sinde; and this exhibition, as well as subsequent 
inquiries, led me to fix the present population of this city at from 8000 to 10,000 
people, but the town is gradually going to decay. 

Assoomul, the brother of Gunda, a Hindoo, and one of the most intelligent of 
his tribe, is the first merchant in Tatta. He visited us, and was very communica- 
tive: he deplored the decay of his native city, and said, metaphorically, that the 
merchant and the cultivator were but the soil of a country — that the soil could not 
flourish unless it was watered by commerce. 

The condition of the Hindoos is best illustrated by statements of their own. 
While we were at Tatta a half-witted person died: the Moslems claimed the body, 
that it might be buried: .the Hindoos waited on the Governor to remonstrate. Some 
Mahomedans declared that the deceased had, on more than one occasion when he 
was uttering curses, used certain of their holy names, and they supported their 
arguments by the Koran: so the corpse was borne in triumph to the hill of Muk- 
klee, and consigned to the earth in the consecrated ground of Islam. A month be- 
fore our arrival a mother and two children became voluntary converts to Mahome- 
danism. Eighteen months previous a Hindoo, at a neighbouring village, was 
seized and forcibly converted because of the offences of a brother who had absconded. 
At the same time it is said that most of the converts become so voluntarily, and I 
state this on Hindoo authority. The Hindoos avoid with scrupulous care all men- 
tion of the names held sacred by their masters. The mercantile town of Ullah yar 
Ka Tanda they simply designate Tanda, to avoid saying Ullah, which means 
God. Not a Hindoo shows himself in a procession; while in India the "eed" is 
celebrated by a far greater number of them than of Mahomedans. Within these five 
or six years a very outrageous instance of conversion by force happened in Sinde, 
in the person of Hotchund, one of the first merchants of Curachee. He subse- 
quently fled to Cutch; and now resides at Lucput with a numerous family; but his 
sons decline to eat with their parent. The unhappy man has wealth and property, 
but no outlay of it can restore him to the lost privileges of his tribe. 

The antiquities of Tatta have ever excited a lively interest, nor were we idle in 
our inquiries. We paid an early visit to Kulan Cote, which lies about four miles 
to the south-west, on the same ridge of hills as that on which the fine tombs of 
Mukklee stand. It at once struck me as the site of ancient Tatta. "Kulan Cote" 
literally means the large fort; and here, in fact, we found a fortified hill, about 
three-quarters of a mile long and 500 yards of average breadth. Its shape is that 
of a parallelogram, excepting on the south-west angle, where it juts out. The 
whole surface of the hill has been fortified with a mud wall, faced with kiln-burnt 
bricks. In the space I have described, the ruins of streets are to be traced; and 
there is a mosque of rather large dimensions, with a fountain in front of it. In 
treading on these remains we often heard a sound as if the ground beneath us were 
hollow. At one end we found a large store of burned or charred wheat: many of 
the bricks, too, were vitrified. Kulan Cote is considered, and called, the old fort 



14 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

of Tatta. To the west are the remains of a suburb, but on all the other sides it is 
surrounded by a lake of spacious dimensions, supplied by a cut from the Indus 
east of Tatta. At one end of this lake there are various places of Hindoo worship, 
formed in the grottoes or natural fissures of the rock, a conglomerate honeycombed 
limestone, full of shells, and often separating, in a very remarkable manner, into 
caverns. The fish of this lake are preserved, because of its being a place of pil- 
grimage for the Hindoos of Tatta, who offer up their devotions here twice a month. 
Is this the "Dewul Sindee," of which antiquarians are in search? There is cer- 
tainly not a temple (dewul), but there are no temples in Sinde; besides, this country 
is often called Dewul, even in modern times. When last I was in Bombay, the 
native agent at Muscat, in Arabia, wrote as a matter of news that the Imam was 
about to attack Zanguebar, and had sent to Dewul to hire soldiers; he had applied 
to Sinde for mercenaries. Kulan Cote, as it now stands, is not given to an age 
prior to that of Islam, but it stands on ground peculiarly adapted for the site of a 
fort, and one which the founders of Tatta would of course have selected. There 
are no ruins between it and modern Tatta, and a circumference of three miles 
encloses all the mounds of the latter. On the northern side of the town the re- 
mains differ from those in other parts, and a wall may be traced. This is said to 
have been the fort of the Soomras and Sumas. Tatta is yet called, par excellence, 
"Bulda," or "Nuggur," both of which mean the city; and in its site, as I have 
elsewhere stated, we have little doubt of having found the ancient Minagur. 

Four miles N. W. of Tatta, and due north of Kulan Cote, we have the remains 
of Sumovee-nuggur, which is said to have been peopled before the present city. 
There are now but eight or nine huts, which are inhabited by those who protect 
the shrine of Sha Jeenda hard by. A small branch of the Indus, the Kulairee, lies 
beyond, and is the first offshoot of the river on its right bank: if full it would in- 
sulate Tatta, but now its waters are wasted. The hill of Mukklee terminates at 
Sumovee-nuggur. Sumovee was a town of the Jams, or Sumas, and their tombs 
still remain near it. Bumboora, on the road to Tatta from Curachee, is said to be 
coeval with Sumovee. Between Tatta and this ancient place is another ruin called 
Sida, also marked by a shrine; with it a fable is coupled of a Hindoo converting 
paper into money, and, on being found out, sinking into the earth. It is yet a 
place of pilgrimage. Brahminabad I cannot find under that name, although some 
Sindians tell you its bricks were used in the modern houses of Roree, and others 
that it stood near Khodabad or Hala. There is a place of antiquity called Bamina, 
in the Thurr, and another, named Kake, near Omercote. There is, however, 
much in modern Tatta to mark its antiquity. The fossil shells of the Mukklee 
hills are made into beads for rosaries: a seed of the palm, I believe, from Lus, 
called " pees," is also bored for the same purpose, and looks very like agate. The 
Hindoo pilgrims encourage this trade on their road to Hinglaj. The " teeruts" at 
Kulan Cote, and Kalka on Mukklee hill, with the residence of five hundred Brah- 
min families even now in this decayed city, all point to its Hindoo sanctity; and 
if they do not supply sufficient data to enable us to discover Dewul Sindee and 
Brahminabad, they at least furnish scope for surmise and conjecture. 

But antiquity has detained me too long, and I must dismiss the tombs of the 
Suma-Jams, Nunda, and Tumachee, with an expression of admiration at their 
chaste beauty, and continue my account of our voyage. 

The Ameers announced, through the Governor of Tatta, their anxiety for our 
advance, as the hunting season would soon be concluded, and they wished us to 
join them in their sports. I was at first disposed to give them less credit for their 
sincerity than the result proved them to deserve. They could not imagine it pos- 
sible that we should have found anything to interest us in Tatta, as not one of the 
reigning family had ever deigned to visit the place, though it is but 56 miles from 
their capital. We quitted Tatta on the 11th of January, and proceeded on our 
voyage. 

On reaching Hilaya we disembarked, and proceeded for about three miles inland 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 15 

to the lake of Kinjore, one of three sheets of water which extend north and south 
for about 20 miles, and during the inundation communicate with the Indus. Here 
we were promised much sport, nor were we disappointed. We embarked in skiffs 
on the lake, a large and beautiful expanse of water, for the purpose of seeing a 
new mode of ensnaring fish. Nets were stretched across the lake at a point where 
it was about 600 yards wide, and four circular receiving nets were fixed at intervals 
along the line in such a manner as that the fish, their progress being stopped bv 
the long nets, might be tempted to leap into the circular ones. The fishermen 
conducted us to the end of the lagoon, where they commenced beating, the water, 
jumping in their boats, striking their cooking utensils, shouting and yelling, and 
making all sorts of imaginable noises; at the same time they gradually advanced. 
The fish, frightened, fled before them, and, finding no other exit, leaped into the 
circular nets, and became an easy prey to their pursuers. Upwards of a hundred 
were caught, and the fishermen seemed to enjoy the sport as much as ourselves. 
They are a tall and handsome race, and claim to be aborigines and descended of 
Rhatore Rajpoots. They refer with exultation to the days of Jam Tumachee, 
when one of their females, famed for her beauty, fixed the affections of that prince, 
and secured privileges for her tribe which they yet possess. After a day's enjoy- 
ment of fishing and shooting we proceeded onwards, passing many decayed tombs, 
with which, in this region, most of the hillocks are crowned, and directed our 
course towards the river at Sonda, to which place our boats had advanced. The 
country was saline, and as usual little of it was cultivated. The capparis, ascle- 
pidias, and tamarisk had been our companions throughout the route; and before 
nightfall we reached a "shikargah," or hunting-thicket of the Ameers, and were 
delighted with the perfume of the babool as we sauntered along the banks of the 
river. Our boats were on the opposite side, and when the boatmen shouted to 
our party their cries resounded through the thickets, and were re-echoed by the 
rocky hillocks. We had no sooner reached the boats than one of our Jokeeas 
commenced playing upon his " tumachee," a kind of rude guitar, much to the 
amusement of his companions. After enduring his inharmonious strains for some 
time, we opposed him with some fine musical boxes, and from this day the van- 
quished performer fairly admitted that his instrument had lost its power. A Swiss 
mountaineer would not have been so easily turned aside from the airs of his native 
hills; nor perhaps was our Jokeea friend in his inmost heart. 

From Tatta to Hydrabad the western bank of the Indus presents to the eye a 
maze of hills, of sand and lime formation, and destitute of herbage. The lower 
hills bear the name of Gara or Kara, and it is difficult to discover in them any con- 
tinuous range; the Hala mountains lie beyond and tower over them. There are 
roads through the hills from Curachee to Sehwun, and also to Jurruk and Hv- 
drabad. We passed these bleak scenes rapidly, and reached the capital on the 18th 
of January. 

On the following day we were presented to the Ameers, when I delivered my 
credentials from the Governor-General of India. The interview was a protracted 
one, and the chiefs were cordial and kind. We first saw the two Ameers Noor 
and Nusseer Khan, and then accompanied them to Meer Mahomed, who was 
sick and confined to his apartments. Sobdar, the fourth Ameer, was, as usual, 
absent, but his son appeared in the assemblage. Noor Mahomed said that "his 
father had firmly planted the tree of friendship between the states." "Yes, my 
lord," said I, "it is true he did so, but your highness has watered it." "It has 
grown into a large tree," rejoined the Ameer. " It is true, my lord," [ replied, 
" and the fruit is now visible." In this complimentary style, to which I had been 
familiarized during my former visit, all our conversation was carried on. After 
some general topics had been discussed, I was questioned as to Runjeet Sing's 
designs on Northern Sinde. I answered that a friend's country was not to be in- 
vaded by a friend's friend. I then explained the objects of the Governor-General 
in sending me on the present expedition, — the line of my proposed journey, — our 



16 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

intention of examining and measuring the Indus, exen as far as to Attock, — my 
ultimate destination to Cabool and Candahar, for the purpose of explaining to the 
rulers and merchants there our policy in opening the Indus, and, — finally, the most 
important point of all, the instructions which I had received to endeavour to infuse 
confidence into all classes, by a declaration of the happy and close friendship which 
subsisted between the British and the powers on the Indus. To all this statement 
a profound attention was given. When I had concluded the Ameer said, " Your 
journey is a long one; you shall be welcome whilst you continue, in Sinde, and 
when you return to it." Before separating, the Ameers, as usual, caused me to 
speak the few sentences in Sindee which I had picked up by the roadside, and ex- 
pressed their delight; but I now told them that I had a grammar of their language, 
prepared by Mr, Wathen s the chief secretary to government; and with a promise to 
give them a copy of it the interview terminated. 

The Ameers proceeded next day to enjoy the sports of the field, and left us to 
examine the bazars of Hydrabad. No one could more heartily appreciate than I 
did the change of tone in this court, or more sincerely rejoice at the prosperous con- 
sequences which had flowed from my former voyage by the Indus to Lahore. 

At Hydrabad I found a cassid or courier from Cabool, a relative of my old ac- 
quaintance Hyat the Cafila-bashee, and who had accompanied me to Khooloom and 
Koodooz. I recognised the man at once, and inquired after my friends. " Moorad 
Beg," said he in a very significant tone; "was that Moorad Beg?" " AtmaDewan 
Begee, his minister," continued the cassid, " had been in Cabool to get a wife, 
and had often blessed himself for having treated you so well." I gave the old 
courier, by name Massoom, as much flesh as he could eat, and he exclaimed, " Who 
could tell that you were the man who wore a pelisse with two robes? but we always 
knew you!" This wanderer offered to carry my despatches to Cabool, and I 
readily accepted his services. Mollah Nanuk also came to tell me the news of 
Bokhara, and that he knew Ullah Dad, Sirwur Khan, and many of my old com,' 
pagnons de voyage. He asked me if I had seen any Islam like that of Bokhara. 
But I must get nearer these scenes ere I enlarge upon them. 

It is not my design to enter into any detail of the arrangements which I made 
with the rulers of Sinde. I had frequent and friendly intercourse with them: one 
day Noor Mahomed said to me, "You had not even a beard when I first knew 
you." I replied that " one now covered my chin with black, in mourning for my 
departed youth," — an idea which I had stolen from Sady, and which was loudly 
applauded. He next asked me what books I had read: I replied, chiefly historical, 
when his brother inquired if I had finished the Goolistan and Bostan? They 
asked me why we objected to the slave-trade? Upon which I explained the enor- 
mities of a slave-ship, and the compact which the powers of Europe had entered 
into to suppress the traffic. On taking leave of Noor Mahomed, he said, "It is 
pleasant to converse with intelligent men, as it makes one learned;" — a specimen 
of Sindian adulation which must stand in place of further details; and I shall now 
transfer the scene beyond Hydrabad. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. \7 



CHAPTER II. 

Hunting excursion with the Ameers — Camel-riding — Costumes — Accident — Mode of hunting — 
Murderous sport — Lakat — Amusements — Hawking — Sehwnn — Moral degradation — Geology 
— Natural history — New companions — Larkhanu— Dr. Lord — Ameer of Khyrpoor — Sindian 
dance — Ghoolam Nubee Khln — Deejee — Maraschino, a new medicine — Antelope hunting — 
Sindian falcons — Bukkur. 

The Ameers of Hydrabad gave us a pressing invitation to accompany them on 
one of their hunting excursions north of their capital, which we readily accepted. 
We left the city in the evening of the 5th of February, and the next morning joined 
their highnesses at the ferry of Khaupootra, ten miles distant. All ceremony 
seemed now laid aside. Meer Shahdad, the eldest son of Noor Mahomed, visited 
us at our breakfast hour, and the Ameers pulled up at our tent-doors, and asked 
after us as they passed. 

Shahdad is about 22 years old. He looks worn, and is said to be dissipated; he 
struck me as better educated than his father or uncles. He asked me what was 
the religion of China; and, after receiving some explanation on the subject, said it 
must then be that of Jengis Khan. A number of the ' Edinburgh Review' lay on the 
table, and in reply to his inquiries I explained, as well as I could to a Sindian, 
what a review was. He listened very attentively, and said that " Two-thirds of 
all the nations were fools, but he supposed we had reduced the number to one- 
fifth." He seemed uneasy at thinking that he was interrupting our meal; and, 
saying his father would be wondering at his absence, took his leave. He had been 
praying at the tomb of his grandfather, Moorad Ali, and is a rigid Shiah. 

Before mid-day a messenger came running to our tents and informed us that the 
Ameers were waiting for us. Our party, consisting of Lieutenants Wood and 
Leech and myself, immediately set out to join them, mounted on splendidly-ca- 
parisoned riding-camels, which had been sent for our use. We found Noor and 
Nusseer Mahomed in "mafras," a kind of conveyance like a native palanqueen, 
carried by two strong mules, one in front and the other in the rear. They alighted 
on our joining them, and mounted camels. I expressed a hope that this new 
arrangement, by which they exchanged a comfortable conveyance, sheltered from 
a hot sun, for the back of a camel, was not made on our account. The Ameers 
replied with great kindness, declaring that it was perfectly agreeable to them, and 
we all trotted along together on camels, which, when trained, are certainly a 
pleasant means of conveyance. When prayer-time arrived we dismounted, and, 
sheltering ourselves under a tree, sent a message requesting the Ameers to proceed 
without us, which, as they had rather too much sunning, they accordingly did, and 
we joined them in the evening. The Ameers, on this occasion, affected no state; 
they conversed very familiarly with all their attendants, and the men who guided 
their camels were as well dressed as themselves. They wore common yellow 
shirts, made like a blouze, with large loongees round their waists. Noor Mahomed 
asked why we had no kummerbunds, or waist-sashes, and I replied that we wore 
tight clothes instead. He said that the sash was a great ornament. The Sindians 
of the party were as noisy as their countrymen are in general, and the number of 
"bismillas" (in the name of God), and " Ya Ali" (Oh Ali), as the camels climbed 
the side of an aqueduct, or as they shuffled along the road, was highly amusing. 
The cortege was very scattered: there seldom were more than thirty people in all 
with the Ameers, the falconers and the physicians following as they pleased; but, 
by the evening, we were all gathered together at Mesa, a mean village, which has 
a garden and a hunting-box, where the chiefs alighted. At night they sent to us, 



18 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

requesting a sight of the caps we had worn, and which they perceived had shaded 
us from the sun, by which they themselves had suffered so much. Lieutenant 
Leech's cap in particular, a large white broad brimmer, turned up inside and out 
with green, had drawn forth great laudations during the march. As for mine, it 
was a " shocking bad hat,'''' and I was absolutely ashamed to submit it to the in- 
spection of these potentates, its days of service had been so many. I sent it never- 
theless, convinced that anything which taught a Talpoor to screen himself from the 
sun would be of important service to him. At dinner we enjoyed the roast meat 
of our entertainers, and all our people, as well as their own, shared the hospitality 
of the Ameers, not only on this evening, but throughout the excursion. 

The Sindians are very expert in putting their horses in and out of boats, but at 
the ferry this morning one of the horses dislocated his shoulder, and his terrified 
groom brought him to us for our advice. After examining the poor animal, I 
ordered him to be thrown down, and all our horse-keepers to pull and tug at the 
limb. The struggles of the animal, probably more than the skill of the operators, 
set all to rights, for to our great surprise, and to the decided increase of our repu- 
tation for universal science, he sprung up as well as ever. The Ameers soon 
heard of the affair, and the owner of the horse was far more delighted at the honour 
done to his steed than he had previously been when I presented him with a litho- 
graphed copy of the Goolistan. He was Ali Khan, the brother of Ahmed Khan, 
the Lagharee chief. 

On the afternoon of the 7th we set out on camels and followed the Ameers to 
Majindu. The distance was about 20 miles through an open and arid country, 
very near the outlying hills, and the Lukkee range was in sight. We found the 
chiefs in another of their hunting-boxes, examining their weapons and talking over 
their expectations of sport. They received us without any ceremony, and placed 
Lieutenant Leech and myself on a cot opposite to them. Lieutenant Wood was 
unavoidably absent. Noor Mahomed made me a present of a small Sindian rifle, 
and taught me the manner of using it, he and his brother adjusting my hands. At 
last the Ameer got up and fired at a jar as a mark which was placed so near that 
he could not well miss it. I followed him and shivered the vessel twice; no great 
feat, but which fixed my character as a " topchee." A dagger was then given to 
Lieutenant Leech, and another was sent to Lieutenant Wood. We promised to 
join the party next day in the Sindian dresses with which their highnesses had 
provided us; it having been decided nem. con. that the game in the hunting- 
grounds could not but be frightened at so novel a sight as the tight habiliments of a 
Firingee. 

We started at sunrise, as usual, on camels, and after proceeding about three 
miles entered the preserve. The Sindians, usually so noisy, became at once 
quite silent. Meer Nusseer Khan, near whom I was riding, dismounted, and, 
desiring me to do the same, took me by the hand and led me to a grass hut, in 
which was a raised platform, where he seated himself, and me beside him. The 
front of the hut was open, and here we remained in anxious expectation till the 
game should be driven down towards us by men and packs of ferocious-looking 
dogs, which we soon heard yelling and barking from the opposite side of the 
thicket. One solitary hog came, but he did not give us an opportunity to fire, 
though the Ameer had passed to me one of his fine guns, and insisted upon my 
taking the first shot. After the lapse of half an hour the arrival of the dogs, bloody 
and almost breathless, showed that this preserve at least was cleared. We there- 
fore mounted our camels and joined Noor Mahomed Khan, who led the way to 
other ground. Here the same arrangements were made; and I sat by the side of 
the principal Ameer, with the gun which he had given me the preceding evening. 
The game was here more abundant, and some eight or ten hogs soon showed 
themselves. The Ameer, like a true sportsman, exclaimed, "That is your side, 
this is mine." I fired first, and killed a hog, — nor could I well miss, since the 
animal was not more than 25 or 30 yards off, and I fired with a rifle and a rest. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 19 

The Ameer, however, was greatly delighted, seized me by the hand, and shouted 
his applause; and I, knowing myself to be but a poor representative of the British 
sportsman, was glad that at least I had not disgraced my nation. After a short 
interval up bounded a hog-deer (Kotah-pachir, or para — Cervus Porcinus), and, 
as he sprung past the box, and while in the air, was shot dead by the hands of the 
Ameer. It was a clever quick shot, but the sport would be considered as pure 
murder by the initiated; for in this instance the distance between the muzzle of 
the rifle and the game did not exceed three or four yards; but Noor Mahomed is 
a keen and good sportsman, and there was much both of pleasure and excitement 
in the whole affair. Covers of young tamarisk generally surround the hunting- 
boxes, and narrow alleys are cut through these in different directions, but all con- 
verging^) the hut where the Ameer is seated. It was amusing to notice the poor 
animals pause as they crossed these paths, and gaze deliberately down them, as if 
consulting with themselves what course to pursue: then ever and anon frightened 
at the yells of the dogs behind them, they would rush onwards in despair, and 
generally to certain death. After this the party broke up; and, bidding farewell 
to our kind entertainer, Nusseer Khan, who proceeded from hence to enjoy the 
sport in his own preserves, we trotted on for a dozen miles until we reached the 
Indus. On our way we overtook Noor Mahomed Khan in his palanqueen, and 
rode with him for some distance. He and his brother wore plain suits of gray 
woollen cloth — the only visible indication of their rank consisted in their sleeve- 
buttons of emeralds, and their jewelled daggers. Their rifles also were richly 
ornamented, and of these each had three or four loaded by him. The locks were 
English, but the other parts of the piece of native manufacture. They only used 
English powder in priming. We crossed the river in the state barge of the Ameer, 
and now found ourselves in the district of Lakat. Next morning we rode along 
the river for about ten miles to Nihaya, which is considered the best sporting- 
ground in Sinde. 

The pleasures of the field were for a few days interrupted by a southerly wind, 
which is considered unfavourable to the sport, but on the 12th a change of wind 
again drew us forth, and there was a slight hoar-frost on the ground and bushes, 
but on the boughs of the tamarisk it was soon converted into tear-drops. Noor 
Mahomed Khan was in great spirits, and laughed heartily when one of the grass 
huts in which we were sitting came down with us, and we all rolled over each 
other. On this day we had good sport, and I began to question the opinion I had 
first formed regarding their mode of killing game; for so densely thick are the 
covers in this region, that, without some such arrangement as that which they 
adopt, I doubt the possibility of their killing anything. These parks, or " Moha- 
rees" as they are called, seem to be planned with care. A large tract of ground, 
shaped as a square or parallelogram, is staked off, and wattled all round so as to 
prevent the egress of the game. This again is subdivided into many triangular 
divisions, and at each of the angles so formed a shooting-box, or " Koodunee," is 
placed, and the animals which escape at one point are constrained to pass to 
another. 

During the whole of the sport the Ameers were the only persons, with the 
exception of myself, who fired a shot. Innumerable sons and nephews were pre- 
sent, but were not allowed to pull a trigger. 

We passed several days in this manner, hunting and fishing. The venison from 
the hog-deer is most delicious, but the society we were in prevented our eating 
the wild hog: we had, however, roasted partridges and Beloochee kabobs daily 
sent to us, and fared extremely well. Some mornings we went out hawking with 
the Ameers' falcons. This is a spirited sport, and I should say there was as much 
certainty of the game being killed by a hawk well managed as by a gun in the 
hands of a good shot. With a couple of hawks we generally returned, after two 
hours, with six brace or more in our bag. The birds were of two sorts — the " baz," 
or gray falcon, with large yellow eyes, from Khorasan, and the " bashu," a native 



20 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

of Sinde, a kind of sparrow-hawk. The mode of training seems much the same 
as in Persia — the eyes being sewn up for many days, and the creatures denied all 
sleep till subdued. 

We received many friendly visits from the Ameer, and had frequent and fami- 
liar conversations with him. He was evidently anxious to impress upon us that 
he had no higher way of marking his favour than by bringing us with him through 
his own country to his preserves, since it showed to the people that we were " as 
one." We cordially acknowledged the justice of the observation and our full ap- 
preciation of his kindness. "A better understanding," said I, "has lately arisen 
between the governments, and this friendly intercourse will cement it." Fore- 
seeing, I suppose, the inevitable departure of independent greatness, Noor Ma- 
homed asked much about the treatment shown by us to the native princes q£ India. 
He inquired as to the pension granted to the Great Moghul. This information I 
gave him, at the same time claiming credit to England for her liberality in not only 
releasing that personage from the Mahrattas, but assigning to him an annual stipend 
of fifteen lacs of rupees. He expressed surprise that the Guicwar, the Mahratta 
ruler of Baroda in Guzerat, should have an income of nearly a crore of rupees, 
and asked how the resident at his court was paid. He enlarged on the wealth of 
Guzerat, inquired into the cause of Girnar having fallen into decay, also whether 
there was still a place named Champaneer, and what was the state of Ahmedabad, 
as all these had been noted places in the time of Mahomed Begra. He asked if I 
had ever seen any river which could be compared with the Indus? I replied that 
I had seen the Ganges, the Oxus, and the Nile; but never any river so favourable 
for the ruler, the subject, and the merchant, as the Indus. "Most other coun- 
tries," added I, " require rain, but Sinde can do without it." He said Sinde was 
a fine country, particularly the lower part of it; that rain always brought with it 
disease, and that they were better without it. The Ameer also told me that he 
had five histories of Sinde which he would give me — a promise, by the by, which 
he never fulfilled. He seemed tolerably conversant with the annals of his country, 
of the Soomras and Sumas, and quoted the tradition of the Sund Rajas having 
captured Cutch by concealing themselves under grass and entering one of the prin- 
cipal forts. These subjects drew him on to speak of his own ancestors, and their 
connection with the British government. He asked after Mr. Ellis, whom he said 
he remembered, adding that his abilities were great, and that a saying of his was 
often repeated by his father and uncles. When a native agent was to be stationed 
in Sinde, the Ameeis wished to fix him at Tatta. Mr. Ellis replied, " No; let 
him be under the shade of the Ameers;" and Hydrabad became his residence. I 
give the foregoing as a specimen of the general tone of his conversation. We 
bade farewell to his highness on the 16th at Nasree, and proceeded to join our 
boats near Sehwun, the Ameer departing the same day for his capital; both par- 
ties, if protestations could be relied upon, delighted with the expedition, and with 
all its incidents and adventures. 

Now that I had made the journey from the sea to near Sehwun by land, and had 
acquired a more extensive knowledge of the country, I perceived how liable we 
are to be mistaken as to its wealth and fertility. Nothing can be more tiresome to 
the eye than the monotonous plains of tamarisk which bound the view in every 
direction: but it is quite certain that a great portion of these plains might be irri- 
gated. The tamarisk is easily hewn down, and the Ameers never proceed to hunt 
but a broad road is cut through it with little labour. The rich part of Sinde is not 
to be found on the banks of the Indus, but at some miles inland, where the water 
is conducted by canals. Often too, in the interior of the country, there are large 
" dunds " or stagnant lakes left by the inundation, and these are also used for irri- 
gation. I have already mentioned those of Kinjore, and in Lakat also we met with 
several. They abound in fish, and innumerable fresh-water shells are found round 
the banks of all these pools: some of these are transparent and delicate. It was 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 21 

remarked that, though we are in low countries, we had not seen a frog, a scorpion, 
or a snake; the cast-off skins of the latter had, however, been found. 

On our way to the river we were met by many of the inhabitants, and it was 
curious to see the interest which even the poorest of them took in the late sport. 
They invariably asked us if the Ameer had killed much game. I expected such 
questions from the higher orders, but was not prepared to find the peasants equally 
interested in the matter. Near Tatta one of them brought to me the head of a 
wolf, which he had killed in one of the preserves, and demanded a gift, not because 
he had destroyed the enemy of man, but because wolves injured the Ameer's sport. 
Laws very similar to the old forest-laws of England seem to obtain here. Any 
trespass on the hunting-thickets is severely punished; and a stray bullock or buf- 
falo which enters them is confiscated. Our presence among the Sindians had evi- 
dently made no little impression upon them, for they asked if they would still be 
allowed to kill beef and say their prayers aloud, the interdiction of these privileges 
being the proofs of conquest which their neighbours, subdued by the Sikhs, have 
had imposed upon them. The Sindian, however, whether his station be high or 
low, has attained but an humble place in the scale of civilization. Throughout 
this journey we found all parties dissipated and indifferent to almost everything but 
sensuality. The tamarisk, their native shrub, is a type of the country — weeds 
overgrow the soil, physical and moral. 

Before passing on to Sehwun we visited the mineral springs of Lukkee, which 
flow from a fissure of the rock under a perpendicular precipice of about 600 feet, 
which, in its nakedness, put me in mind of Hindoo Koosh. The temperature of 
the water was 102°, the air being at 70°, and the odour sent forth was sulphureous 
and unpleasant. The spring flows unintermittingly, and deposits near its source 
some caky substance, or silica. The rock is entirely formed of shells and lime- 
stone, and the rents and fissures present a singular chaos, as if nature had been 
convulsed. The organic remains of former ages are innumerable; the asteroid, the 
cockle, the oyster, the nummulite, and almost all kinds of sea-shells, may be col- 
lected on the Lukkee range. In the clefts I found bones, but these were modern, 
and had evidently been dragged there by hyaenas and jackals. A more minute 
search would, however, reward the geologist in this interesting range. I have also 
little doubt that the loftier mountains of Hala, seen to the west, are similar in their 
conformation to those of Sehwun: both are destitute of vegetation. 

On the 20th we moored in the Ami; and proceeded to revisit the singular mound 
or castle of Sehwun, on which so much discussion has been expended. I felt still 
as much puzzled and pleased with these curious remains as I had formerly been. 
I however avoided the tomb of Lai Shah Baz, for a visit once in a man's life to 
such a scene of noise and importunate begging seemed to me sufficient. The town 
of Sehwun did not appear to contain one-half the number of people which I had 
formerly assigned to it, viz. five thousand souls: the inhabitants were chiefly beg- 
gars and fishermen. The fish here are very numerous, and a favourable oppor- 
tunity was presented to us of largely increasing our drawings of them. In the end 
these formed a valuable portfolio of every specimen to be found in the Indus, 36 
in number. The water-fowl of Lake Munchur, which Lieutenant Leech went to 
visit, were also figured with care. Some of them were very curious, particularly 
the "aree," with three joints to its web-foot, which overlapped each other like 
armour. Of these, and others of the feathered tribe, the drawings at length 
amounted to 191, those of quadrupeds to 20, and those of reptiles to 11. The 
whole of these were presented by government to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, 
together with about 200 specimens of natural history, and the extensive geological 
collections which we made throughout the journey. 

The trip to Munchur gave us an insight into that singular tract. As the water 
retires, cultivation is resumed, while the lake itself is covered with small fishing- 
boats not overrated at a thousand in number. They are in the custom of spearing 
the fish, the weeds rendering it impossible for them to spread their nets. 



22 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

On quitting Sehwun, my former fellow-traveller, Mohun Lai, met me from Bha- 
wulpore. He had been placed at my disposal, and I was glad to see him after a 
lapse of five years. I had been previously joined by another protege, Nourozjee 
Furdoonjee, a young Parsee educated at the Elphinstone college in Bombay. I 
was very anxious to give an opportunity to the youth of that presidency to distin- 
guish themselves on so important an occasion as the present journey afforded them; 
and young Nourozjee had volunteered to accompany me. Besides the recommen- 
dation which he possessed from promising talents, he had been educated under the 
care of a respected and venerated friend of my own, now no more, the Honourable 
James Sutherland, than whom no one was ever more beloved, or commanded more 
universal esteem; and thus I took a double interest in the welfare of the young 
man. The absence however from his countrymen pressed heavily on Nourozjee, 
and he ultimately returned to Bombay, after giving me, throughout the journey, 
the highest satisfaction. He is at present an assistant professor in the Elphin- 
stone college — an institution which bids fair to do honour to the name it bears. 

On the 1st of March we reached Meetanee, the frontier of my old friend Meer 
Roostum Khan, and were received as well as old friends could wish to be; I need 
say no more. Our entrance into this chief's territory was marked by a very suc- 
cessful operation on the part of our native doctor Mahomed Ali. A boy about nine 
years old presented himself with a capsular cataract in both eyes: he had been 
born blind. One of these cataracts the operator broke; and we kept the patient in 
our boats for several days till he could distinctly see, count numbers on his fingers, 
and move about without a guide. It was an interesting occupation to note the 
progress which he made, and with it the gratitude of his relatives. They did not 
wait for the second being cured, but were anxious to return home with their pre- 
sent success. This was not the only work of the native doctor: he removed with 
celerity and success a cataract from the eye of an old woman who had had it for six 
years. The woman saw at once; and prayed aloud for joy. This practitioner 
had acquired his experience in India under Dr. Richmond, whose pupil he had 
been for a considerable time. There is nothing in which European surgery pro- 
duces a stronger impression on the minds of Asiatics than in operations on the eye, 
a branch of the science of which they are altogether ignorant. 

After some very squally and rainy weather, in which we nearly lost one of our 
boats, we passed Chandkoh, and, disembarking, proceeded to visit Larkhanu, a 
town of about 12,000 inhabitants, fourteen miles from the Indus. Half way we 
crossed the Nara river, which was about three feet deep, with a current of a mile 
an hour. Up to this point the soil was saline, and entirely covered with a salt 
efflorescence, but after crossing this river we entered a rich and well-cultivated 
country. Larkhanu is pleasantly situated among date-trees, and is a place of note, 
having a bazar of 370 shops and some manufactures of coarse cloth. It lies also 
on the road between Curachee and Shikarpoor. We found a few Hindostanee 
soldiers here under Moosa Khan, an Armenian, who sent us very civil messages, 
but was afraid to visit us. Larkhanu cannot boast of the morality of its population, 
and its intoxicating liquors were too great a temptation for our people, some of 
whom had, I am sorry to say, become decided drunkards since our entering Sinde. 
A Sindee proverb runs "Jeehoo nano, goom Larkano" (If you have money, go to 
Larkhanu and get rid of it); but the same may be said of many other places. 

After a day's residence we quitted Larkhanu, and joined our boats at the ferry of 
Keree, where we were received by a deputation from Ali Moorad, who had sent 
his brother-in-law, and Simon Michael, an Armenian, the commander of his troops, 
to welcome us. They brought dogs with them, and a civil invitation to us to go 
to their hunting-grounds, but political circumstances obliged me to decline the offer. 
We passed up the river to Buttee ferry (" putung") twenty miles from Khyrpoor, 
where we were joined by the minister, Futteh Khan, who with the usual cere- 
monies escorted us next morning to Khyrpoor, passing on our route through the 
large village of Peer-gote. One of the commanders of the boats accompanied us, 



BTJRNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 23 

and, sailor-like, seemed uneasy on shore: I asked him why he did not enjov 
himself? " Enjoy myself!" exclaimed he; " why, what is this to a boat? In a 
boat we are kings, and go ten cosses a day, but here we are nothing better than 
tired mortals!" I differed widely in opinion from this man; for it was always with 
pleasure that I exchanged the boat for the shore. We were joined at Khyrpoor by 
Dr. Lord, who had been escorted from Hydrabad by a young Englishman, named 
Howell, in the employ of the Ameers, and who was distinguished by the title of 
" Chota Khan," or the little lord. 

On the 1 6th we all paid our respects to the Ameer, who received us even more 
kindly than his relative had done at Hydrabad. He seated me on the same cushion 
with himself, and said that I had founded the friendship between him and the 
British, and that I was his dearest friend, with many other obliging speeches which 
I leave untold; but it is only justice to him to remark that, in the day of need, 
nearly two years after, his Highness proved by his conduct towards the British the 
sincerity of his professions, and, when all Sinde was hostile to us, he separated 
himself from the local confederacies and surrendered to us the fort of Bukkur for a 
depot, which, as he justly styled it, was " the heart of his country." I, however, 
found myself not altogether pleasantly situated with this good chief, for the 
Hydrabad family were at this time exerting themselves to secure the supremacy in 
Sinde, in which they in the end failed, but which retarded the cordiality between 
our government and Khyrpoor which subsequent events have happily established. 
The second "eed," or festival, happened while we were at Khyrpoor, and it 
gave us an opportunity of seeing the national dance of the aboriginal Sindees of the 
Mai or Myanee' tribe, who subsist by fishing. The women of the tribe all came 
dressed in holiday clothes, and, forming a circle round the musicians, moved in 
slow time, beating the ground and clapping their hands, which they raised above 
their heads. In marriages and festivals men and women join in the dance together. 
All these women were on a very large scale, thick-set and dark; few were hand- 
some, and their ear and neck ornaments were so large as to be unseemly. 

After this the prima donna of Khyrpoor, Jewun Bukhsh, entertained us with a 
" natch." This girl is a religious courtesan, who builds mosques and gives away 
large sums in charity; her features were melancholy but handsome, and the shape 
of her feet peculiarly elegant. She and her sisters, beautiful girls also, exerted 
themselves to amuse us. They danced with naked swords and guns, personifying 
jealous husbands and ardent lovers, and fell at last, as it appeared to us, more from 
the effect of ardent spirits than from fatigue. 

There was at this time, at Khyrpoor, a mission from the Brahooee chief of 
Kelat, and through it we opened a communication with the ruler of that country, 
Mehrab Khan, and his young son, who reside at Gundava; and for a time this nego- 
tiation gave promise of being useful to us. The Vakeel, or agent, by name 
Ghoolam Nubee Khan, visited us in our camp, and we derived from him and his 
people much information. I showed him some drawings of Asiatic costumes, 
which so delighted him that he actually leaped for joy. On seeing the portrait of 
Runjeet Sing, he ejaculated, " Are you then so little and so blind, and yet trouble 
• the world so much?" On turning over to a Eusoophzye of Peshawur he exclaimed, 
" And you, you wretch! why don't you cut out the Sikh's heart?" And then, 
placing the one picture before the other, he continued, " Look at the diminutive 
infidel, — look at him, — kill him! Would you not like to be as near him as you 
are now?" All this was said with an energy that made it amusingly ridiculous. 

The chief of Deejee, Ali Moorad Khan, finding he could not tempt us to hunt, 
got politically sick, and requested me to send Dr. Lord to him, which I did. The 
day following Roostum Khan paid that chief a visit of condolence on the loss 
of an infant child; and we, having received an invitation, went also, and 
joined Dr. Lord. Deejee is about fourteen miles from Khyrpoor. It is a neat 
mud fort, built on one of the flat hills of flint, lime, and sand, which occur in this 
part of the country. It is a showy castellated work of some little strength, and 



24 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

contains the riches of this scion of the Talpoors, who has the credit of being the 
wealthiest chief in Sinde. The town near it is small, and chiefly occupied by 
retainers. The desert, which stretches towards Jaysulmeer, begins at Deejee. 
The chief received us well, housed us in his fort, and, soon forgetting all his 
ailments, proposed a hunting excursion for the next day. He pronounced himself 
cured by Doctor Lord's medicines, who, however, had only given him a glass of 
maraschino, which was discovered in Sinde to have effects unknown to us. The 
medicine was so highly appreciated, that we were not only constrained to part with 
the little stock which we had with us, but to send an order for three dozen of it, 
for the special consumption of the invalid. 

In the morning we set out on our excursion to hunt the antelope on the skirts 
of the desert. The Ameer mounted me with himself on his own camel, and Doctor 
Lord was driven by the chief ; s brother-in-law, which greatly surprised the people. 
Ali Moorad is about 25 years old, and a clever sharp man, with some energy of 
character. He put many questions to me on political matters, and it was very 
evident that sport was not the only object he had in view in arranging the party. 
We rode in among the antelopes; then dismounted, and advanced under the cover 
of a camel near enough to fire. I essayed twice, but was unsuccessful. At length 
Ali Moorad killed a fine buck; and great was my surprise to hear him shout out to 
his people in praise of my firing, and declare that the successful shot was mine! 
I laughed outright on receiving gratulations so undeserved; but I could undeceive 
no one except the gentlemen of my own party. There is more sport in antelope- 
shooting than in the preserve and hut affairs in which we had been engaged lower 
down. It a good deal resembles what we call in India deer-stalking. After some 
hours of exertion, we sat down under the bushes and enjoyed some camel's milk, 
which we got fresh from the herds grazing on the ground; when drunl? thus it is 
palatable. We returned to Deejee, where we partook of a splendid entertainment; 
and in the evening returned to Khyrpoor, the Ameer again mounting on his own 
camel, and driving me himself. The whole affair was got over in the most amica- 
ble manner, without giving offence even to Meer Roostum, which was a delicate 
point. Before parting, the Ameer gave permission to Lieutenant Leech to visit the 
manufacturing districts of Raneepoor and Gumbut, which lie in his territories, and 
that officer accordingly proceeded thither direct from Deejee. Lieutenant Wood 
was absent on the river during these festivities, and his unremitting zeal had already 
enabled him to send me very perfect nautical information regarding the lower Indus. 

This Ameer, Ali Moorad, had some very fine hawks, which amused us on our 
way to and from the hunting-grounds; and as I have heard sportsmen express 
much curiosity on the subject of these birds, I give the list of falcons, &c, known 
to the Sindians: — 

T f , ("Native of Sinde; a large sparrowhawk, with 

liUggur, leraale, 1 (]ark trained for the season and then let 

Juggur,male. | loose / 

Baz, female, C Native of Khorasan; goolab (yellow) eye: a 

Zorru, male. { noble bird. 

Bashu, female, C Native of Khoras oolab eye . small- 

Bisheen, male. £ to J 

Churgh, female, C Native of Cuthee; black-eyed: fastens on the 

Churghela, male. \ antelope, and kills the " tuloor." 

Bahree, female, 5 Native of Sinde; found near the Indus, and not 

Bahree buchu, male. \ prized. 

Kohee, female, 5 A ^ s0 ca ^ e & Shaheen; native of Sinde; black- 

Koheela, male. I eyed. 

Tooruratee, female, $ Native of Sinde; black-eyed: let loose after the 

Chatway, male. \ season. 

Chfpuk, m^e!' { Native of Sinde; S°° lab *** 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 25 

The Ookab, or vulture of Sinde, attacks all these hawks; and it is a curious 
fact that the domesticated hawk, when let loose, is frequently set upon by all the 
wild birds of its own species. 

On the 30th of March, we took leave of Khyrpoor and proceeded to Roree 
Bukkur. So great a change had taken place in the feelings of the inhabitants to- 
wards us, that we had now only to express the wish, and we were at once ferried 
across, by the Vizier himself, to the celebrated fortress of Bukkur. He chose this 
singular time to renew some requests that had been previously made to me, with a 
view of cementing more closely our alliance; but I asked him, and I did so with 
perfect sincerity, what he could wish for more, since our mutual confidence was 
already so great, that we stood together as friends in Bukkur? Little at this time 
could I have ventured to hope that on Christmas-day of the ensuing year, I should 
have been the envoy to negotiate a treaty placing Khyrpoor under British protec- 
tion. Such, however, was the case; and on the 29th of January, 1839, in com- 
pany with my respected friend, General Sir Willoughby Cotton, I saw the British 
ensign peaceably planted on this important fortress, and waving over the waters of 
the Indus. 



CHAPTER III. 

Sukknr — Shikarpoor— Its commercial communications, population, bazars, &c. — River festival — 
Beauties — Character of the people — Wild tribes — Muzarees — A chief— Native song— Crocodile- 
steaks — Alligators — Mittuncote — Bhawul Khan, chief of Bhawulpoor — A French adventurer, 
Mons. Argoud — Mahommedan convent — Don Jose" Gonsulvez, our arlist — Runject Sing's offi- 
cers — Kind reception — The Indus at Mittun — Dera Ghazee Khan — District of Deemjat — Its 
great importance— Lohanee Afghans — Their routes — The "Gates of Khorasan" — Traffic or 
Dera Ghazee Khan — Vicinity — Bazars. 

From Bukkur we crossed to Sukkur, and marched next day for Shikarpoor, then a 
terra incognita. We were conducted through its dirty but extensive bazars by 
representatives from Hydrabad and Khyrpoor: the governor shortly after waited 
upon us; and the whole host of merchants, bankers, and money-changers soon 
besieged our camp. From them we gathered intelligence of the designs of Persia 
on Herat and Candahar, and altogether found our attention transferred, in conse- 
quence of their communications, from the Indus and Sinde to matters of more 
stirring interest, and which, in the end, brought about unlooked-for changes. The 
chief of Bhawulpoor had been keeping up an active correspondence with us since 
we had entered the Indus, and now begged me " to quicken my steps and with- 
draw from between us the screen of separation." Runjeet Sing, although not 
over-pleased at our stepping between him and the wide region of Sinde, which he 
looked upon as his prey, was nevertheless most kind in his invitations; and his 
rival, Dost Mahommed Khan, of Cabool, likewise sent his messengers to urge us 
to visit him. We continued at Shikarpoor for ten days, engaged in inquiries re- 
garding its commerce, which, as is well known, extends over all Asia, China and 
Turkey excepted. Shikarpoor is a town of the first importance to the trade of the 
Indus. This does not result from any superiority in its home manufactures, but 
from its extensive money transactions^ which establish a commercial connection 
between it and many remote marts. It stands near the northern frontier of the 

a 



06 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

Sinde territories, 28 miles directly west of the Indus, and about the same distance 
from the fort of Bukkur. Towards the north the Sinde boundary extends^to Rozan, 
on the road to Candahar and Kelat, by the well-known pass of Bolan: so that the 
merchants always speak of Shikarpoor and Dera Ghazee Khan, a town higher up, 
as the " Gates of Khorasan;" by which name they here distinguish the kingdom 
of Cabool. In every direction commercial roads conduct the trade to Shikarpoor; 
but the communication is entirely carried on by land, although all the merchants 
of the town, great and small, agree in the opinion that their profits would be much 
increased, and their interests promoted, were a communication by water established. 
Shikarpoor is not a town of any antiquity, though there has always been a place 
of note in its neighbourhood. Alore, Sukkur, Bukkur, and Roree have all followed 
each other, and the present town has succeeded Lukkee, a place eight miles south 
of it, which was held by the ancestors of the present chief of Bhawulpoor, who 
were expelled by Nadir Shah. It appears to have been built a. d. 1617, since its 
date is preserved in the Arabic word ghouk, or frog, the numeral letters of which 
give the year of the Ilegira 1026; the word likewise conveying some idea of the 
neighbourhood, which lies low. The slope of the country favours its easy irri- 
gation; and in consequence of the Emperors of Delhi having caused extensive 
canals to be cut from the Indus, Shikarpoor is supplied with abundance of food, 
and cheaper than any part of Sinde. The obscure term of " nou Lakkee Sinde" 
has reference, I am informed, to this part of the country, that being the amount of 
revenue above Sinde Proper derived from the province called Moghulee. Natives 
of Shikarpoor who have seen British India assert that their own town is capable of 
being made a second Bengal. Nadir Shah visited Shikarpoor in his conquests; 
but its vicinity to countries so much disturbed prevented its becoming a commer- 
cial mart, till the Sudtlozye princes established their authority in it; anfl its pros- 
perity may be dated from the year 1786, in the reign of Timour Shah, who first 
located Hindoos in the town, after he had conferred the government of Sinde on 
the family of the present Ameers. Shikarpoor is the only place in Sinde where 
that tribe have established a paramount influence, and the Ameers have hitherto 
had the good sense not to seek to deprive them of it, although Shikarpoor has 
heen subject to Sinde for the last 16 years. The revenues collected in it are di- 
vided between the Mydrabad and Khyrpoor chiefs, the latter having three shares 
and the former four, and the expenses incurred in defending it are borne by them 
in the same proportions. The population of the town exceeds 30,000 souls; but 
it is to be remembered that, in addition to the actual residents, there are a consider- 
able number of Hindoos belonging to the place, who are scattered all over Asia 
in commercial pursuits, and who return to their families in after life. The inha- 
bitants consist of Hindoos of the Bunya, Lohanu, and Bhattea tribes; but Baba 
Nanuk Sikhs compose more than half the number. About one-tenth of the popu- 
lation is Mahommedan; most of these are Afghans, who received grants of land, 
or " puttas," as they are called from the name of the deed, and settled around 
Shikarpoor, in the time of the Dooranees. The town, though surrounded by gar- 
dens and trees, is quite open; for a mud wall, which has been allowed to fall into 
decay, can scarcely be called a defence. There are, however, eight gates. The 
bazar is extensive, having 884 different shops. . It is covered with mats as a shade 
from the sun, but has no architectural beauty. The houses are built of sun-dried 
bricks: they are lofty and comfortable, but destitute of elegance. The climate is 
said to be very hot and oppressive in the summer, and there are so many stagnant 
pools around the walls, that it is surprising the people do not find the place insalu- 
brious. The thermometer had a range of 26° in the middle of April, falling to 59° 
in the night, and rising to 82° in the day; but we are informed that the tempera- 
ture this year was unusually moderate, and that across the Indus, at Khyrpoor, the 
thermometer had already stood at 96°. Water is found at 12 or 15 feet from 
the surface, but the river has for three or four years past flooded large tracts in the 
neighbourhood. The land revenues, exclusive of expenses, in collection, &c, now 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 27 

average two lacs and a half of rupees per annum; and the customs and town-du- 
ties are farmed for 64,000 rupees, the currency being inferior by 5£ per cent, to 
the company's rupee. This statement, however, does not include the whole of the 
districts which were held by the Afghans, Noushera being under Larkhanu, and 
several rich jagheers having been bestowed on religious persons. The inundation, 
having lately inclined towards Shikarpoor, has also increased its revenues, probably 
to half a lac of rupees, but the addition cannot be considered as likely to be per- 
manent. It will only be necessary to name the towns at which the Shikarpoor 
merchants have agents, to judge of their widely extended influence. Beginning 
from the west, every place of note from Astracan to Calcutta seems to have a 
Shikarpooree stationed in it. Thus they are found at Muscat, Bunder, Ahbass, 
Heeman, Yezd, Meshid, Astracan, Bokhara, Samarcand, Kokan, Yarkund, Koon- 
dooz, Kooloom, Sulzwar, Candahar, Ghuzni, Cabool. Peshawur Dera Ghazee 
Khan, Dera Ishmael Khan, Bukkur, Leia, Mooltan, Ooch, Bhawulpoor, Umritsir, 
Jeypoor, Beecaneer, Jaysulmeer, Palee, Mandivee, Bombay, Hydrabad (Deccan), 
Hydrabad (Sinde), Kurachee, Kelat, Mirzapoor, and Calcutta. In all these places 
bills may be negotiated, and at most of them there is a direct trade either from 
Shikarpoor or one of ils subordinate agencies. The business seems however, to 
be more of a banking nature than a commerce in goods;, but still there is not any 
great quantity of ready money at Shikarpoor, for there is no mint to which gold 
or bullion maybe carried, and consequently a loss ensues upon its import. The 
Hindoos of Astracan, I am informed, have lately been converted to Islam, and 
within these two years those of Bokhara have been molested, for the first time, on 
account of their creed. 

On the 6th of April we had a good opportunity of seeing the people of Shikar- 
poor, there being on that day a great festival in honour of the river, which is held 
at the new moon, and happened this year to be also the beginning of the Moohur- 
rum, or great Shiah holiday. Shikarpoor was quite deserted on the occasion, for 
nearly the whole of its population betook themselves to the banks of the Sinde 
canal, where there was a fair under some lofty trees. I think that two-thirds of 
the assemblage were composed of women and children. They prostrated them- 
selves in the canal and prayed; then shook each other by the hand, with a good 
hearty European shake; and mothers and brothers bought toys, and suitable Eng- 
lish whirligigs, for their children and sisters. Confections and meats were in 
great demand. We threaded the crowd; and not the least remarkable feature of 
the scene was a couple of gray-bearded men, more fit to personate Moollahs than 
anything else, dancing like girls, with bells at their feet, striving to personate two 
lovers and to look bewitching. Shikarpoor can certainly boast of the bright eyes 
of its daughters; and this clay gave us an excellent opportunity of judging of them. 
The Shikarpoorees are an astute, shrewd body of men, with no literature, how- 
ever, and little education beyond accounts and reading. I doubt if I could de- 
scribe them in language so graphic and true as that used by the inimitable author 
of " Anastasius," in speaking of their brethren of Smyrna: " Their whole hearts 
are wrapped up in cotton and broadcloths: they suppose men created for nothing 
but to buy and to sell; and whoever makes not these occupations the sole business 
of his life seems to them to neglect the end of his existence;, and I verily believe 
that they marry for no other purpose but to keep up the race of merchants and 
bankers." 

On the 10th we returned to the Indus at Moulanu Chacher, about twenty miles 
above Bukkur, where we found our boats. The country was a perfect thicket for 
half the distance: near Shikarpoor it was more open, and the cultivators of the 
ground were now cleaning out the small aqueducts which run from the Sinde 
canal, and on which the prosperity of the land depends. A few days after this 
time the water will enter the canal. At this season the country was overgrown 
with a shrub of a purple colour, like heather. I never saw in any country a 
greater profusion of roses than in Upper Sinde, but they are destitute of fragrance. 



28 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

This was also the season of the mulberries, which are large and of good flavour. 
They ripen well under the great heat, which was now above 95° of Fahrenheit. 

The wild tribes who occupy the western bank of the Indus, the Boordees, Boog- 
tees, and Muzarees, now flocked about us full of promises of obedience and good 
behaviour. The plundering disposition of the Muzarees had for some time en- 
gaged the attention of our government, and we had made it a point of express 
stipulation with the authorities in Sinde that they should suppress it, in order that 
peace might be maintained on the river. This had become the more necessary as 
the Sikhs had marched troops into their country, and now held two of their vil- 
lages — an event which was to all parties a subject of alarm and regret. The chief 
of the Muzarees, Behram Khan, had taken an early opportunity of showing his 
submission to the British, and had met me at Khyrpoor, with some sixty persons 
of his tribe from the plains and hills, " to seize," as he said, "the hem of the gar- 
ment of the British nation." This chief attended us with his bards, who, as he 
entered the camp, sang his praises and deeds of valour, accompanying their voices 
by a kind of " siringee," or guitar, which sent forth softer sounds than could have 
been expected from the instrumental music of the pirates of the Indus. These 
barbarians, for they are little better, were astonished and enchanted when we pro- 
duced our musical snuff-boxes: their chief, however, Behram, was evidently a 
man of sense and judgment. They all rode mares, which they said were more 
docile than horses, and capable of enduring greater fatigue on their " Chupaos," 
or forays; and that, when it was necessary to dismount, one man could hold half 
a dozen of them. They illustrated this by a curious proverb: " A man with a 
saddle on a mare has his saddle on a horse; — a man with his saddle on a horse 
has his saddle on his head." Whilst the musicians were singing I requested to 
be informed what was the subject they had selected, and found it to be, as I have 
stated, the praises of their chief. The following is a free translation: — 

MUZAREE SONG. 

" Thanks be to God for destroying the fort! 
It will smooth away the difficulties of the poor. 
Lend an ear to the supplications of Behram, 
A generous chief, and (he lord of castles. 
His forces are like the waves of the sea; 
Kurman, Dildar are his experienced commanders. 
Aid him, oh the Ghilanee saint! 
Aid him, oh the Ooch saint! 
He slew one hundred men of the enemy; 
His fame as a hero is spread afar; 
Those at a distance will find what they fear. 
There are twelve thousand chosen Muzarees. 
His court is like Mitta the Great. 
Ali has given him power. 
The light of God shines upon him. 
The ears of his mare are like a pen. 
His saddle is worth a thousand rupees. 
The world knows that the Lagharees came against him; 
He relied on God, and went to fight. 
Ghoolam Mahomed Baum, the general of his army, 
Roostum Maseed defeated the enemy: 
Five hundred of them were slain; 
All their property was plundered. 
Behram Muzaree conquered the enemy." 

The country of these people is rich in wool, but their garments were all of the 
coarsest cotton cloth. Of their boldness of character we had ample opportunities 
of judging in the army of the Indus. 

Eight days carried us beyond the Sinde frontiers, as we had a fair wind, and in 
fact a little too much of it, for it carried away a mast and some spars, and nearly 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 29 

killed our barber, who was knocked into the river; but he was a Hajee, and had 
made four pilgrimages to Mecca, to which circumstance he of course attributed his 
escape. One day, as we were proceeding rapidly through the water, we were fol- 
lowed by a man, and the extreme anxiety which he evinced induced me to stop 
the boat and listen to him. His request was, that, as we had now become masters 
of the country, we should restore to him certain lands which had been wrested 
from his family in the time of Nadir Shah, and of which he still possessed the title- 
deeds; and, as statutes of limitation are unknown here, he assured us, again and 
again, that we had the power to do this if we had but the will. We found it im- 
possible to persuade this man, and many others at different times, that we had no 
intention to interfere in domestic arrangements in this country more than in any of 
the others with which we had treaties. It was in vain that I frequently explained 
the objects of my mission: some loudly expressed their astonishment; others, par- 
ticularly the chiefs, listened to my declaration in silence, but almost all evidently 
disbelieved it. 

Near the ferry of Bara we found the fishermen actively engaged in sharing 
amongst themselves an immense alligator (seesar) which they had just caught. 
The monster had been cut up into joints and bits, some of which they were about 
to eat, assuring us that the steaks were delicious. I asked if these animals did not 
eat men, but the fishermen boldly got rid of this objection by assuring me that 
alligators and crocodiles lived entirely on fish! Having partaken of frog, horse, 
shark, and camel, I resolved to add a new item to my list of gastronomic experi- 
ences, and to try my hand at crocodile-steaks; but I found the food to be poor, close- 
grained, dry, and deficient in flavour, and I was very soon satisfied. Probably the 
art of cooking crocodiles may be yet in its infancy. The gall-bladder of the animal 
is carefully preserved, and used as a medicine in cases of obstinate wounds and 
defluxions. We had an opportunity not long after this of verifying the truth of 
the statement made by the fishermen, that these creatures live on fish. We had 
employed above a hundred men to try and catch the " boolun," or water-hosf, and 
in their unsuccessful attempts to do so they caught a large crocodile (gurial) some 
thirteen or fourteen feet long, which they pinioned and bound in such a way, that 
Mr. Waterton's feat of mounting on his back for a hunt might have been perform- 
ed without danger.* When the monster was killed, his stomach was found to con- 
tain four pnlla, or sable-fish, showing, at least, that his taste in fish was refined, and 
disproving the assertion of the Sindians, that these fish do not ascend the Indus 
higher than Bukkur. On the authority of the crocodile we caused search to be 
made for this fish, upon which a waterman naively observed, " Why should not 
that animal have the best of the river, seeing he is the governor of it?" Where- 
ever the current was slack, we found the alligators in great numbers, and could 
approach them within pistol-shot: I have seen as many as a hundred on one bank, 
and innumerable young ones, which were always easily captured. 

On the 22nd of April, we reached Mittuncote and found ourselves on new 
ground; but previously to ascending the Indus we disembarked a few miles up the 
Chenab, and proceeded to visit my old and respected friend Bhawul Khan, at his 
residence of Ahmedpoor. From thence we passed to Bhawulpoor; and, descend- 
ing the Gara, as the Sutledge is here called, passed by Ooch, and returned to 
Mittun after nearly a month's absence, which period, however, had not been use- 
lessly employed. We found Bhawul Khan, as Englishmen have ever found him, 
a true friend and a princely host. He erected " landees," or wicker-work cottages, 
at each of the stages where we had to alight on our route to join him; and, not 
satisfied with his usual display of cooked meats, he had kindly been making inqui- 
ries as to what we would most relish. Some wag had assured him we were im- 
moderately fond of frogs: whereupon all the pools and ditches were searched and 

* This specimen may now be seen in the museum of the Bombay branch of the Asiatic 
Society. 



30 BTJRNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

cleared, and the frogs cherished and fattened up in ponds; but, alas! the worthy- 
Khan on our arrival found out that he had been imposed upon: so the frogs were 
again let loose, and we had much fun and no death, contrary to the well-known 
fable. At Bhawulpoor we met a respectable officer in the Khan's service, Captain 
M'Pherson, and an Englishman named Crawford, a singular character, who had 
nearly forgotten his native language. 

At Bhawulpoor we heard of an European being in a caravanserai, and immediately 
sent him an invitation to join us. He proved to be Monsieur Benoir Argoud, 
Capitaine d'Infanterie, who had arrived here from Lahore: he was a red-hot repub- 
lican; and, after we had risen from table, the good things of which had a little over- 
taken him, continued half the night shouting out " Liberty! Equality! and Saint 
Simonianism!" Early the next morning he broke into my apartment and exclaimed 
" it was seven o'clock, and that Imust instantly rise, as the battle of Wagram had 
been fought, and his father killed at it, before that hour!" To crown all, Monsieur 
announced himself to be en route for Cabool to join Dost Mahommed Khan, and 
constrain him to raise the green shirt of the Prophet, and attack these canaille the 
Sikhs; being determined, as a preliminary part of his plan, to plant potatoes for the 
subsistence of the troops. We concluded Monsieur to be mad; but, as Fanny 
Kemble says of the Americans, " it might be otherwise;" and the question of 
" How corned you so?" would in this instance also have led to the explanation of 
the whole affair. Monsieur Argoud too had method in his madness, for he made 
out his journey safely to Cabool by the Bolan Pass and Candahar, not a very easy 
thing; and afterwards, when I had the honour of again meeting him, he told me 
that he had " saved himself from death, with the sword over his head!'''' by ejacu- 
lating the Mahommedan " Kuluma," or creed, of there being but one God, and 
Mahommed was his prophet. 

We were however witnesses, shortly after these amusing scenes, of a real con- 
version, in the person of one of Dr. Lord's grooms; who, becoming dissatisfied 
with Hindooism and its dogmas, resolved to become a Mahommedan. This 
happened at Chacher, opposite Mittuncote, where the peer, a sleek but burly 
Moollah, named Khodah Bukhsh, has the reputation of working miracles, and the 
more certain merit of keeping a school for children. Sundry messages and inter- 
views passed between the parties: but the priest stood in awe of us, and declined 
to officiate without our sanction. On our interrogating the man as to his reasons, 
he affirmed that it was a voluntary act on which he had resolved for some time; and 
as we felt that we had no right to oppose his intention, Lieutenant Leech and my- 
self determined to be present at the ceremony. We found an assemblage of about 
150 persons, sitting in great solemnity and quietness under a grass shed, the ground 
being laid with mats. Here, after a few complimentary words, we saw the Hin- 
doo Mankoo admitted into the bosom of Islam; and his name changed to the more 
euphonious one of " Shekh Deen Mahomed." Before the ceremony, the priest, 
bringing him to the front, repeated, in three distinct sentences, the Mahommedan 
creed; and the quondam Hindoo followed him, word by word, without a trip: 
whereupon the assembly shouted out their " Moobahik," or congratulations; and 
the affair ended with a feast. This conversion will not satisfy a Christian; never- 
theless, it is no small step to advance from Hindooism, its superstitions and abomina- 
tions, to Mahommedanism, even with all its imperfections and absurdities. From 
that day this man became one of the "people of the book," and was exalted in 
worldly station and religious truth. The priest at Chacher is a man of influence in 
these parts, and I believe of respectability; his family once held Mittun, in which 
place are the tombs of his ancestors. Lately, when the Sikhs were descending the 
Indus, the Ameers sent to implore his blessing. He replied, " It is unnecessary, 
they will not advance," — a guess founded on a knowledge of circumstances, and 
which, as it proved true, has vastly increased the saint's reputation. He however 
rebuked the Sindians for their neglect of their own interests; and told them that, 
although the world was governed by fate (tukdeer), it was governed also by arrange- 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO OABOOL. SI 

ment (tudbeer), and that they should not have lost sight of this, but should have 
prepared their troops. 

On the 22d we set sail from Mittuncote, and took leave of Bhawul Khan's offi- 
cers. The Kahn promised to send me the history of his tribe, and this promise 
he fulfilled by transmitting a long and elaborate account of it, concluding with an 
enumeration of all his own successes in hunting. In return for this production 
he requested me to give him an orrery, which at a subsequent period I forwarded 
to him, and in the mean time I sent him a splendid drawing of Medina, executed 
by our draftsman, Mr. Gonsalvez, to match one which he had of Mecca. I 
have hitherto omitted to introduce to my readers this very useful member of our 
party. 

Don Jose, for I must give him titles which, tf not inherited, were readily ac- 
corded to him by every one, was a Portuguese, a native of Goa, and educated at 
the Propaganda of that city. His forte was music, to which he added the sister 
accomplishment of drawing. Besides his own language he knew some Latin, a 
little French, and spoke tolerable English: in fact, he did high honour to the city 
of Albuquerque, and could sympathize with his illustrious countryman Camoens, 
when far from home. His heart he had left behind him, but not his good spirits, 
and his gay disposition and musical talents often enlivened us whilst on the Indus, 
and when the snows of Hindoo Koosh were frowning over us. The guitar was 
the Don's favourite instrument, but sometimes he played on the accordion, and 
would give us " Home, sweet Home" in our own native tongue, a "Ca ira" in 
French, a loyal air in Portuguese, or the merrier accompaniment to his own fan- 
dango. Altogether Don Jose Gonsalvez was a very original character, and a vast 
favourite with us all: during the day he laboured with industry and attention at his 
proper calling of draftsman; and, when invited to join us after dinner, never 
failed to enliven the evening. He is, I believe, still in Bombay; and, if this page 
meets his eye, I hope he will consider it as written with sincere good wishes for 
his future success, and accept my congratulations at his safe return to his senhora. 

At Mittun we were joined by the officers of Runjeet Sing, and were received 
by them with all that pomp and distinction which he is accustomed to bestow on 
his visitors. Money, confections, &c, were brought to us, and Hurree Sing, an 
old acquaintance, was appointed our Mihmandar. This functionary's first present 
to us was a ram with six horns, which I at first thought he meant should be typi- 
cal of something or other, but it appeared that he merely brought it as a lusus 
naturse which he had no doubt would be highly prized. We did not find Mittun- 
cote, although so favourably situated in a geographical point of view, at all suited 
for an emporium of trade. The country was low, and liable to be flooded. There 
is a place of some antiquity west of this, called Aguee, and the mound on which 
Mittuncote stands has the appearance of great age. Hurund, near Dajel, which 
stands inland from this point, is believed to derive its name from Huree, one of the 
slaves of Alexander. 

From Mittun upwards all was novelty to us: we were on an unexplored river, 
which had never been navigated by Greeks or Britons, and it was problematical 
how far we could ascend. The inundation had now fairly set in, and the river 
consequently was somewhat rapid and looked large; but I am satisfied, after care- 
ful observation, that the Indus is a much fuller river in its upper than in its lower 
course; as in the latter it is diminished by drainage for cultivation, as well as by 
evaporation. Above the confluence of the Indus and Chenab the country was 
already in part under water, and the sedgy plants show that the soil is very humid. 
In the inundation the waters tend towards the west. The subject of the discharge 
of the Punjab rivers, as well as the Indus, was carefully attended to by Lieutenant 
Wood, whilst Doctor Lord bestowed a good deal of care in ascertaining the quan- 
tity of silt held in solution in the water of these rivers, and the nature of it. It 
was found to be composed of silex, alumine, carbonate of lime, and a small pro- 



S3 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

portion of vegetable matter. The result is thus given by Doctor Lord in his 
"Memoir on the Plain of the Indus:" — 

"To make the quantity of water discharged round numbers, let us assume 
300,000 cubic feet as the mean discharge per second. Let us take 3^, which is 
less than the experiments warrant, as the proportion of silt. This being a propor- 
tion by weight, let us take the specific gravity of silt at 2; which, being that of 
silica, is probably not far from the truth. The proportion by measure then will 
be ,-oVgi and from these premises it will follow that, for the seven months speci- 
fied, the river discharges 300 cubic feet of mud in every second of time ; or a 
quantity which, in that time, would suffice to form an island 42 miles long, 27 
miles broad, and 40 feet deep; which (the mean depth of the sea on the coast being 
5 fathoms) would consequently be elevated 10 feet above the surface of the water. 
Any person who chooses to run out this calculation to hundreds and thousands of 
years will be able to satisfy himself that much may be done by causes at present in 
action towards manufacturing deltas." 

A run of eight days brought us to Dera Ghazee Khan, for the southerly winds 
continued strong and favourable. It is said that Amrou wrote to the Caliph Omar 
that Egypt presented in succession the appearance of a field of dust, a fresh-water 
sea, and a flower-garden. Dust we had in Lower Sinde in abundance; a fresh- 
water sea we now encountered, as we often could not see from bank to bank; but, 
as we had as yet beheld nothing but high grass and tamarisk, we presumed that 
we had to look forward to Cabool for the flower-garden. On our voyage we passed 
Noushera Raik, the ferry of Juttooee, and Sheroo; but these are inland, and can 
only be seen from the mast-head, their position being marked by the trees which 
are near them. The river is divided into many channels, but we made our way 
without a pilot through a scene of wearisome monotony. At two p.m. the river 
had a temperature of 84°, whilst that of the air was 108°. On the evening of our 
arrival the wind blew from the south long after sunset, and was oppressively sultry. 
We could not dine without tatties (cooled screens), nor did they reduce the tem- 
perature below 94°. The climate, as may be imagined, was oppressive. The sun 
rose like a globe of intense fire, and threw forth a scorching heat as long as it re- 
mained above the horizon. Sickness, chiefly fever, overtook many of our people, 
but their complaints were no doubt aggravated by the state of inactivity in which 
they were compelled to remain whilst in the boats, and by the over-feeding to which 
the liberality of the chiefs had given occasion. 

It will be necessary to give a brief description of the tract we had now entered, 
as, from many considerations, it is one of considerable interest. The country on 
the right bank of the Indus, below the salt range and to the point where that river 
is joined by the waters of the Punjab, is known by the name of Derajat. It is so 
designated from the two principal towns in the tract, Dera Ghazee Khan and Dera 
Ismael Khan; Derajat being the Arabic plural of the word Dera. The lower part 
bears the local name of Sinde, and the upper that of Damun (or border) from its 
bordering on the mountains of Soleeman. The country itself is flat, and in many 
places fertile, particularly in the vicinity of the two Deras; but to the westward of 
the river, even at the distance of only a few miles, there are no wells, and the soil 
is entirely dependent on rain, and on the water from the hills, without which there 
is no crop. On the opposite bank of the river, in Leia, the Indus overflows to 
the east, and the land, which is exceedingly rich, yields heavy crops, and is known 
by the name of " Cuchee." From Leia the great ferry of Kaheeree conducts the 
traveller beyond the Indus into Derajat, where the mountains are crossed by cara- 
van routes which lead to Cabool and Candahar; and as it is here that the greatest 
of the Indian caravans assemble before passing to the west, the Derajat is invested 
with a high degree of commercial importance. 

From Calcutta by Lucknow, Delhi, Hansee, and Bhawulpoor — from Bombay by 
Pallee, Becaneer, Bhawulpoor, and Mooltan — from Umritsir by Jung and Leia — 
and from Dera Ghazee Khan itself on the south by Bhawulpoor — all these routes 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. S3 

join at the small town of Derabund, about 30 miles west of Dera Ismael Khan. At 
this point commences the well-known road by Goomul river to the pass of Gool- 
airee, which is always traversed by the Lohanee Afghans. Some of these people 
enter the mountains higher up, west of Tak, and also by an inferior pass, named 
" Cheree," lower down; but all these routes eventually unite about 45 miles from 
Derabund. The Lohanee Afghans are a pastoral and migratory people, and many 
of them proceed annually into India, to purchase merchandise: and assembling 
here towards the end of April, and being joined by their families who have wintered 
on the banks of the Indus, they pass into Khorasan, where they remain during the 
summer. They effect this change of residence in a fixed order by three divisions, 
or " hirees," which term, I believe, simply means migrations; and these kirees 
bear the respective names of Nusseer, Kharoutee, and Meeankhyl, which are also 
the names of the branches of the tribes conducting them. The first is the most 
numerous, and with it go from 50,000 to 60,000 head of sheep; but it is with the 
last that the Hindoo merchants and foreigners generally travel. The extensive 
nature of the traffic is proved by the custom-house books, which show that 5140 
camels laden with merchandise passed up this year, exclusive of those carrying 
the tents and baggage of the people, which are rated at the enormous number of 
24,000 camels; the Nusseer having 17,000, the Meeankhyl 4000, and the Kha- 
rontee 3000. The tract which they pass leads by broken, rugged roads, or rather 
by the water-courses of the Goomul, through the wild and mountainous country of 
the Wuzeerees; but the Lohanees have arms and numbers to protect their own 
property and that of the strangers who accompany them. They all reach Cabool 
and Candahar by the middle of June, in sufficient time to despatch their invest- 
ments to Bokhara and Herat; and at the end of October, as winter approaches, 
they again descent!, with the same arrangement, into the plain of the Indus, bring- 
ing horses, dyes, fruits, and the productions of Cabool, in return for the goods of 
India and Britain. This channel of trade is ancient; for we find that in A. D. 
1505 the Emperor Baber states that, when campaigning in the Derajat, he had 
fallen in with Lohanee merchants and plundered them of " a great quantity of white 
cloth, aromatic drugs, sugar (both candied and in powder), and horses," which are 
the self-same articles in which the trade is now carried on. It is due to the Em- 
peror to state that if, during his own difficulties, he plundered these Lohanee mer- 
chants, he afterwards, when firmly established on the throne of Cabool, clothed 
them in dresses of honour. 

Having given the routes of the Lohanee caravan, I ought to note also the whole 
of the other roads leading from India to Cabool; but it would be difficult to do so 
clearly by a mere verbal description. There are three great roads leading from 
India: the first, by Lahore and Attock, the second from the Derajat (already de- 
scribed), and the third by the Bolan Pass, from Shikarpoor to Candahar. Inter- 
mediate to these lines there are also various routes, some or which have been used 
even by large bodies of armed men; but they are not at present traversed by mer- 
chants. The one leading from Dera Ghazee Khan, across the Sukhee Surwur 
Pass, by Boree to Candahar, has been used in modern times by the kings of Ca- 
bool, to obtain the luxury of mangoes; and I met persons who hatl seen the fruit 
arrive by it at Candahar from the Indus in eight or nine days. The climate of 
Boree is described in very favourable terms, not only by Mr. Elphinstone, but by 
all the natives I have interrogated on the subject; and it was by this route that 
Baber passed up to Ghuzni with his army after the campaign of 1505, already 
alluded to. His horse suffered from the want of grain; but, as a caravan route, this 
seems not to be inferior to the Golairee Pass, and to have been deserted only of 
late years; indeed at the present time it is used by couriers (cassids) to bring 
speedy information to and from India. From Dera Ismael Khan, north to Pesha- 
wur, there is no direct traffic. The roads are bad and the people predatory. To 
Cabool, however, there ie a good road by the Koorum river. From Dera Ghazee 
Khan, south to Dajel and Hurrund, there are roads leading over low hills to Bagh, 



34 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

Dadur, and the Bolan Pass: these have been used by large caravans within the last 
twenty-five years. Dera Ghazee Khan, indeed, and Shikarpoor, as I have already 
stated, are always spoken of by the people as the two " Gates of Khorasan." 

From a neighbourhood so advantageously situated the merchant exports the native 
productions of the soil with profit; and the manufacturer converts them and the 
imports from other countries into cloth, which accompanies the foreign goods that 
pass through for consumption in the interior. Dera Ghazee Khan itself is a manu- 
facturing town, but it is surpassed by Mooltan and Bhawulpoor, which are in its 
neighbourhood. At one time its trade with the west, and even with the east, was 
brisk; and though, from the great influx of British goods, it does not now exhibit 
its former prosperity, its native manufactures are still healthy and thriving. It is 
celebrated for its goolbuddens and durriees,or striped and plain silken cloths, which, 
being much sought for and admired, are annually exported to Lahore and Sinde, 
and are there considered to surpass those of every other country. To the east it 
sends its silks, the raw material being obtained from Bokhara and the west. To 
the west it sends its cotton and a coarse white cloth, which is the most important 
of its exported manufactures, and is sought after in Khorasan, where it yet stands 
its ground in competition with English cloth, as far at least as demand goes, for it 
is much inferior in quality. The demand for British calicoes has decreased this 
year by one-half; last year the sales effected amounted to 50,000 rupees, and this 
year it is under 24,000. Chintzes of different descriptions, with soosees, bafta, 
and some coarse loongees, complete the list of manufactured cloths: there are none 
made of wool. The value of all the cloths made here may amount to about one and 
a half or two lacs of rupees; and the greater part is exported. A coarse kind of 
cutlery, swords, scissors, and knives, such as are used by sailors, is also made at 
Dera Ghazee Khan, and exported. The bazar consists of about 1600 shops, 530 
of which are engaged in weaving and selling cloth. The town has a prosperous 
appearance, which is altogether attributable to the protection afforded it by Monsieur 
Ventura, who was lately in charge of the district. The population is about 25,000. 
It is said to have been built by a Beloochee about 300 years ago; and its name long 
fluctuated between " Ghazee Khan" and " Hajee Khan." It was formerly subject 
to the crown of Cabool, but fell into the hands of the Sikhs about twenty-five years 
ago. They farmed it to Bhawul Khan, who had no interest in protecting it, and 
his officers were guilty of the grossest extortions; but since 1832, when it was re- 
sumed by the Sikhs, it has greatly recovered itself. 

The land around Dera Ghazee Khan is very rich: the town is pleasantly situated 
in a flat country about four miles from the Indus, and is surrounded by gardens and 
lofty trees, among which the date predominates. It is said, indeed, that around 
Dera there are no less than 80,000 date trees. By far the most valuable production 
of the place is indigo, 2000 maunds of which were this year exported to the west; 
and I am informed that this is about as much as the district can produce. The best 
sort now sells for sixty-five rupees per maund, that of medium quality for fifty, and 
the worst for thirty-two: this export alone amounts to about one lac of rupees in 
value. The dye is inferior to that procured in Bhawul Khan's country; but it is 
cheaper, and has a ready sale in Cabool and Bokhara, besides being nearer at hand. 
The cotton of Dera Ghazee Khan is of a superior quality, being soft in staple* 
25,000 maunds are procurable: it is at present exported. Sugar is cultivated, but 
in small quantities, and only of late years. The place is rich in grain; the wheat 
and barley are excellent, but the rice is red, and of a poor quality. The price of 
grain in June, 1837, was as follows, the currency being that of Shooja-ool-Moolk, 
and much the same as that of Shikarpoor already detailed: — 

Rupees 
Rice, per maund of 40 seers, 80 rupees to a seer ... 3 

Rice, 2nd sort, 1| maund . . . . . . 2 to 1^ 

Wheat, 1 1 maund . . . . . * . 1 

Grain, 70 seers . . . . . . . I 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 



35 



Dale, or mohree, 2 maunds . 

Moong, or mash, 50 seers 

Ghee, permaund 

Oil, per maund 

Salt, per rnja, or piece of 1 maund, 25 

Native salt, 2 maunds . 

Goor, or molasses 

Sugar-candy, permaund 



Rupees. 
1 
1 

8| 
4~ 
•it 
s i 
1 

16 
t twelve lacs 



Under Cabool, Dera Ghazee Khan yielded a yearly revenue of abou 
of rupees; it now produces eight and a half or nine lacs, and that only within the 
two or three last years. The country which gives this income includes the district 
of Sungur on the north, and Hurund Dajel on the south; also Cuchee, across the 
Indus. The revenue is farmed to the same person who is now Governor of 
Mooltan, and is improving daily. The villages around Dera Ghazee Khan are 
exceedingly numerous: they are nearly all peopled by Mahommedans; and in the 
town of Dera Ghazee Khan itself the two tribes are about equal, there being in it 
125 Hindoo temples, and 110 mosques, great and small, every description of 
religious buildings being included in that number. Dera Ghazee Khan commu- 
nicates with all countries around it by good roads, except those to the west, which 
have no claim to commendation. A list of the marts or places of note to which 
they lead may not be useless: — Asnee, Hurund, Cutch Gundava, Mittun, Shikar- 
poor, Bhawulpoor, Khyrpoor, Ullah, Yan, Hydrabad, Mooltan, Lahore, and 
Umritsir. 

I will conclude my account of this place by an enumeration of the different 
classes of shops in the bazar, which I deem to be somewhat curious as a statistical 
document. 

« 

List of the shops in the Bazar of Dera Ghazee Khan, on the Indus. 

No. of Shops. 

Sellers of cloth, 115 

Sellers of silk, ------ 25 

Weavers of white cloth, -------- 128 

Weavers of silk, - - - - - - - - - -112 

Cleaners of cotton, --------- 25 

Sellers of cotton, ----------17 

Dealers in grain, --------- 219 

Boot and shoe makers, ---------55 

Do. Hindoo, 25 

Cap-makers, ----------15 

Tailors, - - ---- 50 

Butchers, -----------15 

Dealers in vegetables, -.------ 40 

" in fruit, 32 

" in milk, 30 

Confectioners, - - - - - - - - - -75 

Cooks, ' 40 

Hukeems, -----------10 

Grocers — passaree, --------- 30 

Dealers in ivory, glass, &c. — mamgur, ------ 30 

Blacksmiths. 45 

Coppersmiths, ----------25 

Jewellers, ---------- 60 

Cutlers, - 12 

Turners, ----------- 9 

Shroffs, --- - 30 

Saddlers, 20 

Washermen, ----------50 

Painters, ----------- 15 

Dealers in tobacco and bang, .------30 



36 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

No. of Shops. 

Dealers in salt and " mate," - 12 

Pipe-sellers, .......... is 

Paper-sellers, ---------- 18 

Shops shut up, and consequently unknown, ----- 165 

Total, - 1597 



CHAPTER IV. 

Battle between the Afghans and Sikhs — Departure from Dera Ghazee — Baber's routes — Voyage 
upwards — Sungur — Gurung — Dera Ismael Khan — Bazars, &c. — Corps de ballet — Donna of 
the Indus — Voyage to Kala Bagh — Romantic country — Kussooree hills — Singular formation 
— Villages — Sooleeman range. 

On the 1st of June, and whilst at Dera Ghazee Khan, despatches of a late date, 
and of an important nature, reached me from our ambassador in Persia, Sir John 
Macneil; and on the following day further intelligence arrived from Peshawur, by 
which we learned that a battle had taken place between the chief of Cabool and 
the Sikhs, at the mouth of the Khyber Pass, in which the Sikh general was slain. 
There appeared, therefore, every reason to fear that these countries would shortly 
be in a very disturbed state; and, weighing deliberately the instructions under 
"which I was acting, I did not deem it advisable to tarry much longer at Dera 
Ghazee. I accordingly sailed from that place on the 5th of June; and at the same 
time Dr. Lord and Lieutenant Leech passed over to Mooltan, where they gathered 
much important information; and, although they experienced some difficulties, 
their stay there was by no means disagreeable. The difficulties which they met 
at Mooltan, and the neglect which we had to complain of at Dera Ghazee, all 
arose from the same cause. It had been arranged that Captain (now Colonel) 
Wade should meet us at Mittun: this he had not been enabled to do, the Lion of 
Lahore, who did not altogether relish our political measures on the Indus, having 
detained him at his capital. 

Observing that Baber states that, after his campaigns in Bungush and Bunnoo, 
he passed up to Ghuzni by Choteealee, it appeared to me certain that he must 
have taken the road of Sukhee Surwur, and- 1 therefore sent Lieutenant Leech to 
explore it. He proceeded to the mountains called "Kala roh," and found the road 
a mere pathway, and much molested by robbers; and from subsequent information 
we learned that these routes to the west of the Indus are rendered impracticable, 
even more from the poverty of the country than from the badness of the roads. It 
would also appear to be imprudent to use them for the passage of armies, after 
Baber's statement that he lost many of his horses in the attempt. 

In the neighbourhood of Sukhee Surwur, a kind of argillaceous earth, called 
" mate," is found and exported to India, where it is used in baths and to cleanse 
the hair. 

On the 8th we anchored above Deradeen Punna; we passed Leia on the 9th, 
Gurung on the 11th, Kaheeree ferry on the 13th, and moored off Dera Ismael 
Khan on the 16th: thus performing a voyage of about 200 miles in eleven days, 
the wind being fair all the way, although the weather was squally, with rain, 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 37 

thunder, and lightning. We frequently sailed at the rate of four and five miles an 
hour against the stream, and at a time when the inundation was at its height. If 
we were enabled to do this by the force of the wind alone, what could not steam 
achieve? The birds — a kind of tern — which hover in flocks over the banks of the 
river, are a good guide to the navigator. These birds are' always to be seen near 
spots where the river is washing away its banks, and where they pick up slugs; 
and thus the rapid parts of the stream may be descried from a distance and 
avoided. 

The first district in ascending this portion of the Indus is Snngur. It is a fertile 
tract, lying under the hills about fifty miles north of Dera Ghazee. Water runs 
down upon it by a rivulet from the hills, and the harvest is so plentiful that a part 
of the produce is exported. Manglote is the name of the fort in Sungur, and 
Taosa is a village in it. We found nine boats loading at the ferry, and about ten 
miles higher up we halted on a bank which had all the appearance of an English 
park. The trees, it must be confessed, were babool, but they were lofty and clear 
of underwood, so that we could see far through them over a green sward. They 
would afford abundance of firewood, which may some day prove of use. At 
Gurung, which succeeds Sungur, and is within four miles of the river, the cultiva- 
tors of the land came in crowds to see us. They were Beloochees of the Kolai- 
chee tribe, but I found that the rest of the population were chiefly Mahommedan 
Juts. There were also some Koreeshee Mahommedans, and a few Hindoos. 
Their subjection to the Sikhs is complete, and newly-built Sikh temples are to be 
seen in several places, which testify their power. The people complained bitterly 
of the want of money, the collectors having sent out of the country all that they 
possessed. Their rulers would not consent to take the revenue in kind, but in- 
sisted on payment in cash, and this formed the grand subject-ground of grievance. 
I have heard similar complaints in the British provinces, and indeed the deteriora- 
tion of our revenue may be traced to this cause. These people informed me that 
their crops were for the most part obtained by irrigation; the water being drawn, 
not from the Indus, but from the hills. This is also the case at Sungur, as I have 
already mentioned. Gurung is watered by the Vahova; the Rumal irrigates the 
country near Dera lsmael; and, higher up, the Goomal serves the same purpose, 
the whole of it being expended before it reaches the Indus. The crops consist of 
wheat, barley, and juwaree: rice is not produced. 

Our camp was soon pitched at the ferry of Dera lsmael, and the Governor in- 
vited us to proceed to the town, which is about three miles inland. It was at this 
ferry that we first noticed a description of boat called " dugga," differing from the 
rounded " zohrtik," and which we were informed was the only craft suited to the 
rocky part of the river above Kala Bag[h. They have a large prow and stern, 
which protect them when driven on shore with violence, as they frequently are. 
A zohruk exposed to the same danger would, to use the phrase of the natives, be 
certain to " split her breast." In the evening, whilst loitering near the ferry, I 
watched the lights floating down the river — offerings made by the people to the 
stream — pleasing emblems of devotion, which twinkled for a while and were lost 
for ever. I saw here also a strong instance of devotion of another kind in the be- 
haviour of a deer belonging to one of our own people. The animal was so tho- 
roughly tamed, that it even followed its owner into the river, and swam after him. 
It was strange to witness in a creature so timid, and in general so afraid of water, 
nature thus conquered by affection. The ferry presented a bustling scene — the 
whole town crowded to it, and the Hindoos swam about on red skins in their for- 
bidden river with great dexterity. I had never seen the race take to the water so 
readily before. They have benefited by the change of masters, and have therefore 
become cheerful and elated. 

Of all the towns in this district Dera lsmael Kahn ranks next in importance to 
Dera Ghazee; but it is only a third of its size, and, from its position, labours 
under many disadvantages. About twelve years ago the town was washed into 



38 , BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

the Indus, and on a new site, about three miles from the river, the inhabitants have 
again fixed themselves. Until lately the place was held by an Afghan chief, to 
whom the Sikhs assigned it in perpetuity, after a brave and memorable resistance. 
A year ago they forcibly repossessed themselves of it on the fictitious plea of 
strengthening Peshawuf; whereas, in reality, the places have no connection with 
one another, being separated by the Khuttuk country, which is strong and moun- 
tainous, and only pervious to a large force, although there is a gun-road through it. 
The new town of Dera Ismael is laid out with order and regularity, having wide 
streets and a good bazar; but it is unfinished, and the present rulers are not likely 
to carry out the plans of its founder. The houses are of sun-burnt brick. The 
town when we saw it had a deserted look, but it is said to be a place of much life 
and bustle in the winter, when the Afghans return to its neighbourhood from Kho- 
rasan. There is a large caravanserai in it, where they transact business and dis- 
pose of their goods, as this is their bazar-town. The fruits of Cabool were to be 
had in abundance, and were excellent. The bazar contains 518 shops; but there 
are no native manufactures here as in Lower Dera. The transit of coarse white 
cloth from the Punjab is great, the annual quantity sometimes amounting to 
1,800,000 yards, or 3000 camel-loads. The revenues of Dera Ismael exceed four 
and a half lacs of rupees, and are derived from the town itself, and from the 
country extending to Puharpoor north, and Derabund west, including Koye, Ko- 
laichee, and the tributary district of the Eesa Khyl. Grain and the necessaries of 
life are more expensive than in DeraGhazee, although supplies are received by the 
river from Marwut, which is a grain country to the north-west. 

On the 20th of June I was joined by Captain Mackeson, the British agent for 
the navigation of the Indus, with whom I had much conversation on the commer- 
cial prospects by the river, and as to the advantages of establishing a fair on its 
banks. I give, in an appendix (vide Appendix No. 1), the result of the inquiries 
which I made, together with my own views on this very important subject, which 
appears to me to demand much more attention that has hitherto been accorded to it. 
Had a more active part been taken some years ago in extending our commercial 
relations in this quarter, we might, perhaps, by means of our manufactures, have 
successfully coped with our rivals, and been spared the necessity of using our arms 
beyond the Indus. That great geographer, D'Anville, however, used to congratu- 
late himself on the certainty of distant wars adding to our geographical knowledge; 
and there can be no doubt that foreign conquest tends to produce this effect more 
rapidly than the slow progress of commerce. 

A messenger here reached us, bearing an extremely kind letter from Runjeet 
Sing. It was full of his usual professions,, and was accompanied by some half- 
dozen orders (purwanus) which would insure us attentions we had not hitherto re- 
ceived from some of his subordinates. Everything now went on merrily; but his 
Highness's parade of the extent of his kingdom, which he stated in his letter to 
extend from Ladak to Omercote, showed his fears that the British government had 
some intention of clipping his wings. These fears were, however, totally without 
foundation. 

On the 2d of July, Doctor Lord and Lieutenant Leech rejoined us from Mool- 
tan; and the corps de ballet, from Dera Ismael, came down to do us honour and 
show their accomplishments to the five Firingees. The number of these young 
ladies was very considerable, and they displayed a profusion of ornaments which I 
had not before seen, and which we all agreed were in bad taste. These women 
use antimony in the eye, the effect of which extends beyond the organ, and gives 
to it the shape of an almond: indeed, it is called "badam-chusm," or almond-eye; 
and, strange as the assertion may appear, the effect produced is certainly good. 
Some of them wore necklaces of cloves, and one young lady had adorned her neck 
with a pod of musk, the scut of the deer. She was the Hebe of Dera, and bore 
the name of Mulam Bukhsh: although dark, she was extremely handsome, and 
elicited loud applauses from the citizens of Dera Ismael, who pronounced her to be 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO OABOOL. 39 

"the Donna of all the Indus." Among the company present was the young son 
of the Governor, whose intelligent and beautiful countenance interested us all 
greatly. 

From this place I addressed a letter to the chief of Cabool, enlarging on the 
advantages of peace; and on the 3d of July we again embarked on the Indus, and 
reached Kala Bagh at three p.m. on the 13th, not without adventures on our route. 
On the third day after our departure from Mooltan we closed with the hills of 
Khussooree below Beloote, on the right bank, and had a romantic sail along their 
base to Keree, where we halted. A sheet of verdure, covered with palms and 
other trees, now and then separated us from these hills. The landscape was 
striking — bare, brown, and bleak rocks overlooked the plain; their summits crown- 
ed with the ruins of infidel forts (Kaffir Killa); intermixed with which were some 
Hindoo pagodas, blackened by age, and now deserted. We landed to examine 
these buildings, and thought the locality well suited to the taste of sequestered men. 
The formation of the hills was limestone, with flints and fossil shells thickly em- 
bedded in it, some of which were very curious, as sea-weed could be distinctly 
traced upon them. On the next day, the 7th of July, we passed Sheenee, sailing 
literally among date-trees: for many of them had been, by the invasion of the 
stream, detached from the land; and the labour and difficulty of tracking was, in 
consequence of this, extremely great. The heat was most oppressive during the 
day, the reflection from the bare hills augmenting the effects of a sultry atmosphere; 
and even during the night the temperature was so high that not one of us could 
sleep. At dawn of the 8th the thermometer stood at 90°. We pushed off at once, 
and crossed, during the day, to the opposite shore; as the Khussooree hills, which 
are here very steep, and in some places almost perpendicular, pressed in close 
upon the river. Lieutenant Wood, however, subsequently surmounted these diffi- 
culties by the aid of the Eesa Khyl Afghans, who were most friendly towards us. 
From the eastern side of the river the view of these mountains was very imposing, 
the absence of ruggedness in their outlines giving them the appearance of a vast 
fortress formed by nature, with the Indus as its ditch. On the right side of the 
river we found a secure and permanent bank, some forty feet high, with fixed vil- 
lages on it, and small forts differing from the reed houses, lower down. Herds 
and flocks were numerous, and the sheep appeared to thrive on the furze of the 
thull, or dry country. We got into a still branch of the Indus, called Bumberwah, 
and made rapid progress, passing the villages of Kolla, Koondee, Rokree, Moje, 
and Daod Khyl, and at length arrived at Kala Bagh. Long before we reached it 
we saw the crevice through which the Indus issued. The salt range to our right, 
which is here called " Soah-Roh," looked well, and stood out with a bold, well- 
defined outline in the transparent sky, which had«been cleared by the recent rains. 
The Takht, or throne, of Sooleeman, with its table summit, was also a grand 
object in our rear. The people flocked about us; and the women — stout, sturdy 
dames, unveiled — begged us to buy their melons and vegetables. The men were 
also on a large scale, bony and muscular. The dress, too, had changed — the fe- 
males wearing loose trousers falling down in folds that were becoming, and which 
reminded us of the garb of the Kattees of Katty war. We became objects of special 
curiosity, for a dozen boats had never been seen here; and the appearance of a 
Firingee camp, with its novel paraphernalia, I doubt not, yet marks an era in the 
annals of these people. They all took to the water like amphibious beings, and 
5\vam to our boats on inflated skins, coming down to see us always skin in hand. 
As we approached Kala Bagh the water of the river became much clearer, and ere 
we crossed to that town we could see the rounded pebbles at the bottom: an agree- 
able contrast to the muddy Indus of the lower countries.* 

* Lieutenant Wood's extremely valuable report on the River Indus is given at the end 
of the volume, Appendix ii. 



40 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CAI50OL. 



CHAPTER V. 

Our critical position — State of the country — Influence of the Sikhs — The Euzoofzyes and their 
Chief— Plain of Peshawur — Futtighur — The Khtiltuks — Kala Bagh — Eesa Khyl Afghans — 
The Wuzarees — Ascent of the Indus — Coal deposits — Excessive heat — Duncote — Husn Abdal 
— Dr. Falconer — Arrival at Attock. 

We now found ourselves in the theatre of war, and in a somewhat critical situa- 
tion. The Sikh garrison at Puharpoor had, shortly before our arrival, been mas- 
sacred, and the Eesa Khyl Chief, Ahmed Khan, having refused to pay his tribute 
and do homage, a force of 3000 men and ten guns had arrived from Lahore to 
reduce him to submission, and was now on the other bank of the river, under the; 
command of Futteh Sing Man. From neither party had we any danger to fear, 
but it might be difficult to steer a medium course that should not give offence to 
one or the other. The Eesa Khyl had acted throughout a most friendly part 
towards us, and some of them were now in our camp, while the drums and fifes, 
gongs and bugles, of the Sikhs echoed among the mountains within our hearing, 
and their troops were often in sight. On the 19th the Sikhs began to cross the river, 
and as the " Ghazees," or champions, were assembled hard by, we thought it 
advisable to change our quarters to the right bank, and thus escape all chance of 
molestation. That the reader may understand the state of parties here and higher 
up the Indus, it becomes necessary that I should give, once for all, a rapid sketch 
of the power which the Sikhs possess on its western bank. 

Their legitimate influence beyond the river may be said to be confined to the 
plain country, as their authority can only be enforced in the mountains by the 
presence of an army; and in some of the hilly tracts, even those bordering on the 
river, as has been seen, the Mahommedans can successfully resist it. It is, how- 
ever, the strength of their country, and not their military power, which enables 
them to cope with the Sikhs. The low country, on the other hand, is under 
complete subjection to Lahore: the Derajat is without the presence of a regular 
force, which is, however, necessary in the plain of Peshawur. For six degrees 
of latitude, from 34° 30' north down to 28° 30', on the frontiers of Sinde, the 
Sikhs have either actual possession of the country west of the river, or exercise 
some degree of influence over it. An enumeration of the condition of the differ- 
ent petty states will best illustrate these observations. 

The most northern territory is that of Poyndu Khan, a Turnowlee or Moghul 
by descent. This state consisted of a small but rich tract of country eastward of 
the Moo-seen, as the Indus is here called, in Puklee, yielding yearly about a lac 
of rupees. Of this the Sikhs have deprived him; but he yet holds the fort of Chut- 
toorlye, on an island in the Indus about 10 miles north of Derbund, and also a 
country of about 240 square miles on the west bank. From this tract the Sikhs 
draw no tribute; and even on the eastern bank they hold their possession with diffi- 
culty, Poyndu Khan making continual forays across the river, and carrying off 
prisoners, on whose ransom he supports himself and his people. He has about 
500 horse and 2000 infantry, most of whom are natives of Hindoostan, and wan- 
dered into this country during the crusade of Syud Ahmed, who was slain by the 
Sikhs in 1831. 

Next to Poyndu Khan's country, and below Derbund, lies the district of Sit- 
tanu, about fifteen miles north of Torbaila. It is held, with a very small river 
tract, by Syud Akbar, a holy man who is much revered by the Mahommedans in 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 41 

this country: he has no tribute to pay to the Sikhs, nor are he or his few subjects 
molested by them.* 

Below these petty districts, and less immediately on the Indus, lie the territo- 
ries of the Euzoofzyes, a numerous and powerful tribe of Afghans, whom the 
Sikhs control by retaining a regular force cantoned in the plain country north of 
Attock, between the Indus and river of Cabool. This body of troops is protected 
from surprise by a fort of some strength, called Jangura, built on the north bank 
of the river of Cabool, about five miles from the place where it falls into the 
Indus, The Euzoofzyes are the tribe from which the ruler of Lahore experienced 
so much opposition in his approaches on Peshawur, and with whom some of his 
most sanguinary battles were fought. The late Sirdar Huree Sing, who fell in 
the recent battle of Jumrood, was in the habit of making yearly incursions among 
the Euzoofzyes, burning their villages and crops, and seizing horses, &c, as tri- 
bute. At different times he destroyed the villages of Topee, Minee, Kota, Moo- 
nera, and Buree, which belong to the Otmanzye Euzoofzye. From these he used 
to exact about sixty horses; but, two years since, by mutual agreement, a tax of 
four rupees per house was fixed in lieu of every demand; and this would not be 
paid were it not for the presence of a force which overawes them. The sum 
realized sometimes amounts to sixty thousand rupees. The principal personage 
among the Euzoofzyes is Futteh Khan, chief of Punjtar, whose territories to 
the west are bounded by Swat and Hushtnuggur. He has about 1500 foot and 
200 horse, besides village (Ooloosee) troops. He occasionally sends presents of 
horses and hawks, but pays no regular tribute to the Sikhs,t nor will he allow 
their agent to enter his country. This chieftain has greater means of resisting 
than his more southern neighbours. 

The plain of Peshawur is the most northern of all the actual conquests of the 
Sikhs west of the Indus. For many years it paid to Lahore an annual tribute of 
horses and rice; but, in 1834, when Shah Shooja Ool Moolk made the attempt to 
recover his kingdom by an attack on Candahar, the Sikhs seized upon Peshawur, 
and have since retained it. It is stated that the Maharajah's design in possessing 
himself of Peshawur was to counteract the power of the Shah, should he re-estab- 
lish himself on his throne; but there is reason to believe that his foresight did not 
extend so far, and that Sirdar Huree Sing, who had long been stationed on the 
Attock and engaged in incessant wars with the Mahommedans, persuaded him to 
take the step, against his own better judgment. The policy of the conquest was 
always dubious: from first to last it has proved a source of much anxiety; and, 
latterly, a cause of serious disaster. Previous to its conquest Peshawur was held 
by a branch of the Barukzye family, under Sooltan Mahommed Khan and his 
brothers, who realized a yearly revenue of upwards of eight lacs of rupees. The 
assessment under Lahore amounted to ten lacs, and this sum has since been real- 
ized by the Mahajarah's officer, Monsieur Avitabile, who fixed it. Only a small 
portion, however, now reaches the coffers of the Sikhs; for, at the present time, 
Sooltan Mahommed Khan and his brothers possess jaghires to the amount of four 
lacs and a half of rupees, and hold Cohat, Hushtnuggur, and the Doaba, the 
richest portion of the plain. The country of the Khuleels, which yielded about 
a lac of rupees, is now entirely deserted; and that of the Momunds, which was 
nearly as valuable, is only half cultivated. Six out of ten lacs are thus abstracted; 
and besides all this, extensive lands are alienated to religious persons, a large gar- 

* Lieutenant Leech ascended the right bank of the Indus opposite to Derbund, and it 
is to him that 1 am indebted for these particulars. 

f An agent of this chief waited upon me with a letter, tendering his master's allegiance 
to the British government, and offering to pay us the usual tribute. Finding his country 
adjoined Kaffiristan, I made some inquiries regarding it, and the agent immediately offer- 
ed to commute the tribute of horses into one of an equal number of young Kaffirs, think- 
ing the change of terms would be more acceptable. 
4 



42 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

rison is kept up, and much additional expense is incurred: so that Peshawur is a 
drain on the finances of the Lahore state, with the additional disadvantage of being 
so situated as to lead the Sikhs into constant collision with fierce and desperate 
tribes, who, were it not for their poverty, would be formidable antagonists. In 
the city of Peshawur the Sikhs have built a fort on the site of Bala Hissar. — It 
is strong, and, in the late war, afforded protection to the wealthier inhabitants. 
They have also strengthened their position by erecting another fort, called Fut- 
tihghur, near Jumrood, opposite the Khyber Pass. — It is a square of about 300 
yards, protecting an oetagonal fort, in the centre of which is a lofty mass of 
building which commands the surrounding eountry. This fort is dependent on 
the mountain streams for its water, which the Afghans can and do dam up. At 
the time of our visit they were sinking a well, which they had carried to the depth 
of 170 feet without eoming to water; but, from the indications in the soil, it was 
expeeted to be soon reached, and has since, I am informed, been obtained, but not 
in abundance. Even with these defences the position will be a troublesome one, 
as both the Afreedes and Khyberees consider it meritorious to injure the Sikhs. 

Between the plain of Peshawur and the salt range at Kala Bagh lies the country 
of the Khuttuks and Sagree Afghans. The Khuttuks are divided into the petty 
chieftainships of Acora and Teree. Acora is situated east of the plain of Pesh- 
awur, on the river of Cabool; and as its chief, Hussun Khan, serves the Sikhs, 
he is permitted to retain his country. Those Khuttuks of Acora, however, who 
live in the hills, are not subject to Runjeet Sing. The southern division, under 
the chief of Teree, maintains its independence, in so far, at least, as refusing to 
pay a direct tribute; although it acknowledges the supremacy of Sooltan Mahom- 
med Khan, who is but a servant of the Sikhs. When Peshawur was first 
captured, a Sikh officer was stationed at Cohat and Bungush; but he found it 
impossible to keep the country in order, and it has since been wisely confided to 
the intermediate government of the ex-chief of Peshawur: by this means a small 
tribute of about 1000 rupees per annum is drawn from Teree, in the plain of 
Bungush, which lies westward of the Khuttuk country. Below the Khuttuks are 
the Sagree Patans, a tribe entirely independent of the Sikhs: they hold the country 
on the west bank for nearly thirty miles above Kala Bagh; and also on the oppo- 
site shore as high as the plain which commences at Husn Abdal: they are shep- 
herds, and their flocks are numerous. It will therefore be seen that from Attock 
to Kala Bagh the Sikhs have little or no power along the line of the Indus. The 
inhabitants, during the last campaign, resisted the ascent from Kala Bagh of the 
boats which were required for the construction of a bridge, till Sooltan Mahommed 
Khan interceded; and had the Sikhs met with further reverses at Jumrood, the 
Khuttuks were ready to have attacked them on their retreat to Attock, as they 
passed the defile of Geedur Gullee. The number of the Khuttuk tribe is variously 
stated at from 6000 to 8000 armed men.* 

The town of Kala Bagh, so famous for its rock-salt, is subject to Lahore, but is 
held by a native malik, or chief, who pays only 10,000 rupees yearly, though he 
collects 32,000. The situation of the malik is one of uncertainty and peril; for 
he is surrounded on all sides by the enemies of the Maharajah, with all of whom 
he is obliged to live on friendly terms, lest they should injure him when the 
Lahore troops are withdrawn. Kala Bagh is an important position to the Sikhs, 
as it is here that their armies cross the river to make inroads and levy tribute upon 
the tribes of which we shall presently have occasion to speak. The subjection 
of Kala Bagh is complete. 

Following the course of the Indus is the country of the Eesa Khyl Afghans, 
which extends to within thirty miles of the province of Dera Ismael Khan. It is 
a strong and mountainous strip of land, and its valley abounds in water, and is 

* Lieutenant Wood passed through the country of the Khuttucks and Sagrees, and it 
is on his authority that 1 am enabled to state the precise condition of this tract. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 43 

well peopled. The Sikhs have, however, approached it from Puharpoor, on the 
south, and also from Kala Bagh, and exact, pretty regularly, a tribute of 34,000 
rupees per annum. To enforce their authority, a detachment was last year 
stationed in the country: but the whole party were massacred, as I have already 
stated, during a popular insurrection, and the present chief, Ahmed Khan, who 
has the character of a humane and good man, has resisted all attempts to replace 
the detachment, though he acknowledges allegiance to Lahore and agrees to pay 
tribute. The mountains of Eesa Khyl and Khussor rise so abruptly from the 
Indus, that, were not the country accessible on other sides, it might make suc- 
cessful resistance; and, in fact, the Eesa Khyls have been lately left to govern 
themselves without a garrison. 

On the other side of Eesa Khyl lies the district of Bunnoo, intersected by the 
Koorum river, which renders it rich and fertile. It consequently excites the 
cupidity of the Sikhs; and the Lahore troops have frequently entered the district, 
and did so last year, exacting from it a tribute of a lac of rupees. They can, 
however, obtain nothing from it without a large force, and troops are generally 
sent into it every second year. In the times of the kings, Bunnoo paid a yearly 
tribute of one lac and 40,000 rupees; and the level and defenceless nature of the 
country will always enable the most powerful chief in its vicinity to exact some- 
thing from it. The Sikhs enter Bunnoo by the village of Lukhee, but retain no 
permanent force in it. 

South of Bunnoo lies Murunt. A tribute of 28,000 rupees is exacted from this 
district; but, as in Bunnoo, an armed force is necessary. It is a country rich in 
grain, which is sent, down the Indus to Dera Ismael Khan. 

The district of Tak adjoins the province of Dera Ismael Khan, and, being 
partly in the plains, has become subject to Lahore. At present, it forms part of 
the jaghire of the prince, and is farmed for one lac and 20,000 rupees; but the 
amount realized varies from year to year, although some payment is certain, as a 
Sikh force is located in the country. The chiefs, for some years, paid a tribute 
of 100 camels and 25,000 rupees, but they have now left the country and fled to 
Cabool. The only enemies of which the Sikhs here stand in awe are the Wuza- 
rees, a barbarous tribe of Afghans; who inhabit the mountains to the westward, 
and sometimes descend into the low country and plunder the inhabitants. 

Descending the Indus and passing by Dera Ismael and Dera Ghazee Khan, 
already described, we next come to Mittun; beyond which lie Hurund and Dajel, 
which, being late acquisitions from the Brahooees, require a watchful eye. In 
other respects the Sikh rule is paramount in this country; their Grinth, or holy 
book, is placed in mosques, and sometimes in temples built expressly for its 
reception; the cow is a sacred animal; and no Mahommedan raises his voice in 
praying to his God, — the clearest proofs of conquest, but, at the same time, an 
inteference so impolitic, that, should a reverse occur westward of the Indus, the 
subdued and sullen population would, at once, rise en masse upon the invaders of 
. their soil, whose position, during a portion of the year, is further endangered by 
the inundation of the Indus, as, at that time, it cannot be bridged, and is, there- 
fore, with difficulty passed by an army. 

From the political I will now pass to the physical geography of these countries. 
Our object, as I have already stated, had been to ascend the Indus to Attock, and 
even to Peshawur, but the information which we had lately received held out but 
little encouragement to us to attempt to do so at this season of the year: never- 
theless, on the 16th of July we embarked with a southerly wind, and passing 
Kala Bagh and its romantic cliffs, stemmed the river merrily to Maree, where, 
losing the wind, we found the stream too rapid for the track-rope, and were obliged 
to return. The river was smooth, and, at its narrowest part, about 400 yards in 
breadth. The water, although the. thermometer proved that its temperature was 
72°, produced so strong a sensation of cold, that the boatmen who were tracking 
complained much of it; and the rope having pulled some of them into the river. 



44 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

one man was picked up benumbed and exhausted. Our failure, however, did not 
daunt a British sailor like Lieutenant Wood; and, although it now seemed advisa- 
ble that the mission should prosecute its journey by land, he resolved to stand by 
his own element as long as there was any prospect of success; accordingly, he set 
out with a well-manned boat, and reached Sharkee, about one-third of the distance 
to Attock, when some of his crew left him, and he was obliged to return. He 
found the river running in a channel of rock, while detached cliffs stood up in the 
middle of the stream like basaltic pillars, having marks upon them which indicated 
a rise of the river of 50 and SO feet above its bed. It is, however, for three or 
four months only that the upward navigation of the Indus is here interrupted; and 
the downward passage is open all the year: for Lieutenant Wood, having pro- 
ceeded by land to Attock, descended the river from that point. In the beginning 
of May, the Sikhs, having occasion for boats to complete their bridge at Attock, 
dragged them up from Kala Bagh in twenty-two days, with only fifteen or twenty- 
men in excess of their crews: since then, however, the strength of the eurrent had 
increased, and the Indus was now rapid, noisy, and dangerous. From Attock we 
navigated the river of Cabool to Peshawur and Muchnee; and Lieutenant Wood 
ultimately descended from Jellalabad to the sea, as he has stated at large in his 
very interesting and able work. 

The mineral riches of Kala Bagh — 'its rock-salt, alum, and sulphur — require no 
further mention from me; but it is important that I should state that we have com- 
menced a series of inquiries for coal, and that our search was crowned with com- 
plete success. It was found close to the town at Shukurdura and Muckud, and, 
ultimately, in no less than twelve localities, stretching in the direction of Cohat 
towards Ghuzni, along the salt-range after it has crossed the Indus, and lower 
down at Kaneegoorum. Lieutenant Wood was also fortunate enough to discover 
it at three places on the eastern bank, — Joa, Meealee, and Nummul, between Pind 
Dadun Kahn and Kala Bagh, and at distances from 25 to 50 miles of the river. 
On both banks the localities in which the coal is found were similar, viz., in deep, 
dry water-courses, and the channels of winter torrents. Anthracite was also brought 
by my messengers from Jummo, high up the Chenab; and Dr. Lord procured coal 
at Kobal, on the north bank of the Oxus. I have not by me the analysis of the coal 
discovered by Lieutenant Wood; but Mr. James Prinsep, in reporting to govern- 
ment on that found on the western bank, stated that " four of the specimens were, 
in fact, of the very finest form of mineral coal, that in which all vegetable appear- 
ance is lost:" of one of the specimens, a kind of jet, he remarked, "that, if found 
in sufficient quantities, it would not only answer well as a fuel, but be superior to 
all other coals for the particular object in getting up steam, from the large propor- 
tion of inflammable gas it disengaged under combustion." It is to be hoped that 
the time is not distant when these discoveries will be turned to good account by 
the British government; and it is satisfactory to find, even at the present time, 
the enterprising Parsee merchants of Bombay navigating the Indus by steam as 
high as Kala Bagh, from which point, by means of land conveyance, they are 
enabled to supply the wants of Cabool. 

Our stay at Kala Bagh now drew to a elose, and as the road to Peshawur by 
Cohat had been already traversed by Mr. Elphinstone, and, moreover, was in- 
fested with robbers, we determined to proeeed to Attock, up the eastern bank of 
the river, and accordingly commenced our march on the 22d, heartily glad to get 
away from Kala Bagh, the heat of which can only be compared to that of an oven. 
So intense is it, that all the population leave their houses and live under trees on 
the banks of the river, in which they are perpetually to be seen spinning and 
amusing themselves. A quarter of the population suffer from goitre. We found, 
however, that as far as related to temperature we had not bettered our condition 
by leaving the Indus; for at Musan, our first halting-place, the thermometer rose 
to 115° in a single-poled tent, and in the smaller tents, occupied by our people, it 
reached to 135°. We lay gasping all day, stretched out beneath tables as a pro- 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 45 

tection, and at sunset the mercury did not sink below 100°! A week's suffering 
was, at length, terminated by a violent thunder-storm, which cooled the atmos- 
phere. 

Our halting-grounds were at the hamlets of Neekee, Jubbee, and Toote, and 
thence to Pindee Nurlik Oulia, according to the name given on the maps, but 
which is more properly called Pindee-Gaib-ne. We had made but little northing 
in a distance of 51 miles, for all the maps of this district are erroneous, and we 
had only, as yet, reached the latitude of 33° 10'. Steep ravines and execrable 
roads brought us, at length, to the Swan river, which we crossed, stirrup deep, 
at a point near Toote: it was rapid, red, and swollen. Nature seems to have 
been sportive in this neighbourhood, for the strata run in all directions — soft, red 
sand lies under hard sandstones, and time has furrowed the hill's into peaks of 
singular irregularity. As we approached Pindee the face of the country changed. 
We had now an undulating upland moor, nearly destitute of vegetation, and, as I 
suppose, forming part of the " Chool-i-Julalee," or desert of Julal-e-deen, thus 
called from the hero of that name who so nobly swam the Indus when pursued 
by his enemies. Pindee was a cheerful-looking village, and, at the time of our 
arrival, was enlivened by the presence of Sikh soldiers, who were passing through 
it to join the force at Kala Bagh. Their commander,- Soojet Sing, waited on us 
and was very civil: we had previously met a regiment of cavalry in the ravines of 
the Swan river, commanded by Captain Foulkes, an Englishman of high character 
in the Sikh service. These military movements disconcerted the people, and 
were considered as proofs of some ulterior designs beyond the Indus. 

While in this neighbourhood I ascertained the position of Duncote, the village 
at which, according to Rennell, Timour crossed the Indus. The correct name is 
Dingote. It is a small hamlet on the west bank, marked by a bluff mountain, six 
miles above Kala Bagh. The route from Bunnoo leads down upon it, and not 
upon Kala Bagh, which circumstance settles the question as to the place of 
passage. 

After remaining an entire day at Gaib-ne, in consequence of the rain, we prose- 
cuted our journey; and, passing Tattee, Kote, and Futtih-jung, at each of which 
places we halted, and near the last sighted the snowy mountains, we found our- 
selves once again on beaten ground at Husn-Abdal, where we arrived on the 1st 
of August, the distance being 52 miles. Until we reached Futtih-jung we had 
the same sandstone formation as before; but the country was less broken and the 
road excellent. As we approached Husn-Abdal the vegetation became more 
abundant, the formation being limestone; and we at last found ourselves among 
the beautiful but decayed and neglected gardens of this celebrated spot: we 
pitched our camp by the crystal rivulet, filled our glasses with Burgundy, and 
drank to the memory of Noor Muhal and to the fame of her immortal poet, 
Thomas Moore. We were joined here by Dr. Falconer, the superintendent of the 
botanic garden, who accompanied us to Peshawur, and afterwards proceeded on a 
■scientific tour to Cashmere. The researches of Dr. Falconer, and his able coad- 
jutor Captain Cautley, in the lower Himalaya, and their success in unravelling 
the mysteries of fossil remains, afford good proof that their time was not wasted 
in the " happy valley;" and the public may hope, ere long, to profit by their 
labours. 

The intelligence which reached me at Husn-Abdal induced me to quicken our 
advance to Attock, for which place we set out on the 4th, and arrived on the fol- 
lowing day, under a salute from the fortress. 

On the banks of the Hurroo, where we halted the first day, we experienced a 
smart shock of an earthquake, about three p.m., or, in Greenwich time, at six 
minutes past ten, a. m. It was accompanied by a loud rumbling noise, and the 
ground vibrated under us. The shock was from the east or north-east, and was 
succeeded by heavy rain and wind, under which my tent fell upon me, but I 
scrambled out unhurt. 



46 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Cross the Attock — Khyrabad and fort — Bridge of the Indus — Inscriptions at Hund — Arrival at 
Peshawur — Reception by General Avitabile — Prince Kurruck Sing — Review of his troops — A 
Peshawuree's story — Changes by the Sikhs — Curious incident — Arrival at Jumrood — Enter 
the Khyber Pass — Ali Musjid — Duka — Visit from the chiefs — Customs of the Kliyberees — 
Bassoul — Kuju — Its pomegranates — Gundamuk — Anecdote of Nadir Shah — Hyat — An old 
friend — A facetious Mooftee— Meet Mr. Masson — Arrival at Cabool — Cordial reception. 

We crossed the Attock on the 7th August, and encamped at Khyrabad, on the 
opposite side: in making the transit the boat rolled and pitched with violence, and 
one man began to blow into a skin with which he had provided himself, and to 
invoke his saints. When we had got safely over one of the watermen exclaimed, 
«' The Firingees do not change colour in danger!" Of danger, however, there was 
more in appearance than in reality. Whilst at Khyrabad we experienced much 
civility from Runjeet Sing's son, who was stationed at Peshawur. He sent to us 
ice and fruit, and freely permitted us to examine the fortress, which, in spite of 
many defects, I found to be a much stronger place than I had expected. I made a 
trigonometrical admeasurement of the river from the " ab doozd," or sunken sluice, 
which supplies the garrison with water, to the rock of Kumalia, and found it to 
be exactly 800 feet wide; afterwards, however, I saw the stream bridged below the 
fort, and, upon crossing and measuring it, I found that it was only 537 feet broad 
in that part. The bridge was formed by thirty boats, and the water where it was 
placed was twelve fathoms deep; but, between that point and Kala Bagh, Lieu- 
tenant Wood found it in some places thirty fathoms deep. I sent Lieutenant Leech 
to Torbaila to examine the fords across the Indus at that place, of which we had 
heard much; but he found that, although there are fords there, they are not practi- 
cable at this season: at an earlier period of the year they are constantly used. 
Lieutenant Leech ascended higher up the Indus to Drabund, where it is but 100 
yards wide, and he returned from thence to Attock on a raft, much pleased with 
the treatment he received from the Mahommedans. By way of an experiment I 
sent our heavy baggage up the river of Cabool to Peshawur, under the charge of 
Mr. Nock, a European surveyor. He found the river rocky near its confluence 
with the Indus, but quite navigable throughout. 

The interesting nature of the district in which we now found ourselves led us to 
use every possible exertion to obtain information. I had learned from my friend 
General Court that there were some inscriptions between the Indus and Cabool 
rivers, and the messengers whom I despatched in that direction soon returned with 
the fac-simile of a very valuable one from Hund; and a few days afterwards the 
marbles themselves were sent to me, and have now finally been transferred to the 
museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The inscription proved to be Sanscrit, 
and did not long elude the skill of James Prinsep, who lithographed the fac-simile; 
and, although the marbles had been mutilated, was enabled to translate the most 
important of the inscriptions. He assigned it to the seventh or eighth century, 
and, as it refers to the powerful Turuschas (or Turks) as foes overcome by the 
nameless hero whom it celebrates, it proves the fact of the extension of the Indian 
rule to this point of the Indus, and the early struggles of that race with, the Tartar 
tribes beyond them. I subjoin the translation. 

Translation. 

1. . . blessings; whose kingly and priestly rule even among his enemies spreads. 

2. Above his glory goes . . .for pleasure ... ... 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. A7 

3. . . the powerful flesh-eating' Turushcas, causing alarm to . 

4. . . lavishing bland speech on spiritual superiors and Brahmins without 
number. * 

5. Such a prince as attracts all things to him; persevering in the protection of his 

people. 

. what in the world is difficult (for him) to accomplish] 

6. . . husband of Parbati . . went on a road 

7. . . elephant . . whose mothers (?) and fathers' virtue 

8. . . endure forages . . . glory and excellence. 

9. Virtue 

10. Of Deva the great riches, . . rule . . moon. 

11. . . . great . . . sun . . living among 

12. . . . the cheerful minded; . . . . . 

13. . . . then Seri Tillaka Brahmin . . (shall be made beautiful!) 

On the 1 1th of August we set out for Acora. On our route the Sikh garrison 
of Jangeera, a fort that stands on the southern bank of the river of Cabool, sent a 
party to welcome us, and fired a salute. The next day we drove into Peshawur 
in General Avitabile's carriage, who very kindly came out some miles to meet us, 
accompanied by a large suite. It afforded me great pleasure to renew my former 
acquaintance with the chevalier, and letters which I received from his compatriots 
at Lahore, Messieurs Allard and Court, carried me very agreeably back to former 
times. Peshawur was indeed changed since my former visit: a French officer 
now governed it, and certainly in a splendid style, whilst the former chiefs, Sooltan 
Mohammed and his brothers, came to see me in their fallen state. I found it 
somewhat difficult to steer through the maze of conflicting parties; but I endea- 
voured as much as possible to confine my communications to personal matters, and 
my remembrance of past kindnesses was so strong, that, if I could not meet the 
wishes of my old friends, I at least took care to point out the causes of my inability. 

Our first visit after alighting at the Baghi Wazeer, which was assigned as our 
residence, was to the Prince Kurruck Sing. His imbecility is such that he can 
scarcely return an answer to the most simple question; he was, however, ex- 
tremely obliging; invited us to visit the new fort of Sumungur, which is now 
building on the ruins of the Bala Hissar, and promises to be, when finished, a 
place of considerable strength. He also paraded his forces for our inspection, both 
infantry an.d cavalry: the first consisted of twelve battalions and twenty guns, and 
went through its brigade-exercise well. The sight, however, of 12,000 cavalry 
was much more imposing as they passed in review order before us in the fine plain 
of Peshawur. The only drawback to the enjoyment of these scenes was the 
weakness of the poor prince, which was really distressing: he could neither put a 
question, nor answer one, without being prompted. A Peshawuree told us an 
amusing anecdote of a half-witted king of Balkh, who was ruled by his minister. 
On one occasion, when a foreign ambassador was to be presented, the vizier, fear- 
ful that his master would commit himself, prevailed on him to allow a string to be 
tied to his foot, and passed under the carpet in such a manner that the minister 
might hold the other end; and it was arranged between them that, whenever the 
vizier pulled, the king was either to speak or to desist from any inappropriate 
speech. The audience took place: the ambassador spoke; and the king replied; 
but, alas, the reply was only "Kush mu koonud!!" (he pulls). Again the ambas- 
sador spoke, and even more deferentially than before; but again the poor king 
shouted out " Kush mu koonud! kush mu koonud!" to the unspeakable grief and 
dismay of his prime minister. " Now," added the Peshawuree, " our prince 
wants a guide-string as much as the king of Balkh." 

I found that the Sikhs had changed everything: many of the fine gardens round 
the town had been converted into cantonments; trees had been cut down; and the 
whole neighbourhood was one vast camp, there being between 30,000 and 40,000 
men stationed on the plain. Mahommedan usages had disappeared — the sounds 
of dancing and music were heard at all hours and all places — and the fair Grisis 



48 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

of the Punjab enchanted the soldiers with varied strains of Hindee, Cashmeree, 
Persian, and Afghanee. If, however, some things be changed for the worse, 
others are improved. The active mind of Monsieur Avitabile has done much to 
improve the town and tranquillize the neighbourhood: he was building fine bazaars 
and widening streets; nay, that most conclusive proof of civilization, the erection 
of a gallows, proved how much he had done towards bringing this wild neighbour- 
hood under subjection. The general did not pretend to be guided by European 
ideas; and although at first his measures appeared to us somewhat oppressive, his 
proceedings were, I am sure, in the end, more merciful than if he had affected 
greater lenity. It is quite impossible for me to give an adequate idea of the 
princely hospitality and unvarying kindness of this gentleman to every one of our 
nation, and I hope he may soon return to Europe and enjoy his colossal fortune in 
his native city. 

At Peshawur I was told of a signal service performed by an old favourite of mine, 
a fine iron-gray Toorkumun horse, which had been presented to me by Runjeet 
Sing. He was by far too splended an animal to suit the appearance of poverty 
which I then deemed it prudent to assume, and, being constrained to part with him, 
I gave him to two Moollahs at this place, whose services I was glad thus to reward. 
They sent him down to their father, who was with Shah Shooja, at Loodiana, and 
in the defeat which that monarch sustained at Candahar, in 1833, he rode this very 
horse, and actually owed his life to the speed with which the gallant animal carried 
him away from the field. I had not anticipated that he was destined for such royal 
services, and was pleased to find that I had, indirectly, been enabled to render a 
good office to the king in his misfortunes. 

During our residence in Peshawur Dr. Lord, accompanied by Dr. Falconer, pro- 
ceeded to Cohat to examine its mineral formation; but the people there had metal in 
their human clay as well as in their earth, and the tone which they assumed, and also 
the disturbed state of the country, constrained the two geologists to return. Lieu- 
tenant Wood, however, passed up by Cohat; and as he had also descended the 
Indus, he had altogether examined three lines of route. The whole of our party 
now concentrated themselves at Peshawur, and prepared for an advance on Cabool; 
and as the thermometer was as 98°, we anticipated an agreeable change. The 
heat of Peshawur was less than was expected; still it was oppressive, and a con- 
stant haze hid the surrounding mountains. The fruits at this season were' excellent 
and extremely grateful to the palate. 

On the 30th we took our departure from Peshawur, and were driven by Mon- 
sieur Avitabile in his carriage to Jumrood, three miles from the mouth of the 
Khyber Pass, the scene of the late battle between the Sikhs and Afghans, and 
where the former were now actively engaged in building the new fort to which I 
have before alluded, and which has been named " Futtehghur," or the fort of 
victory, although in reality it was the scene of defeat. The village of Jumrood is 
in ruins, but is marked by a brick fountain: its little fort is also contemptible, and 
hence the necessity for erecting the new place of defence: they have chosen for its 
site an old mound, with which they, as usual, couple traditions of Man Sing; and 
it is certain that, whilst digging the foundations, coins similar to those obtained at 
the tope of Manikyala were found. The work was proceeding with great activity, 
and, as each Sikh commander had a portion assigned to him, it would soon be 
finished. The position is ill chosen, inasmuch as its supply of water is uncertain. 

We found our situation at Jumrood by no means agreeable. The deputation 
sent to escort us through the Khyber Pass had not arrived; and although some 
months had elapsed since the battle, the effluvia from the dead bodies, both of men 
and horses, were quite revolting. Some camel-keepers who had left the place the 
day after our arrival, escorted by a few soldiers, were attacked by the Afreedee 
mountaineers, who came down upon them, drove off the camels, and beheaded 
two of the people, whose mangled trunks were brought into camp; and we were 
informed that this murderous outrage was one of very frequent occurrence. The 
garrison, in this instance, pursued the marauders and brought back the cattle. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 49 

At length, after a good deal of discussion, and very contrary to the advice of our 
worthy host, Monsieur Avitabile, we resolved to wait no longer for our escort, but 
at once to enter Khyber. Some half-dozen letters had already been exchanged 
between the chiefs of the pass and myself; and the individual commanding the 
small detachment of the Cabool troops, a renegade of the name of Leslie, alias Rat- 
tray, who now figured as a Moslem, under the name of Fida Mahommed Khan, 
assured me they were to be relied upon. We set out on the morning of the 2d 
of September. Monsieur Avitabile saw us a few hundred yards from his camp, 
where we parled from him, with many thanks for all the kind attentions which he 
had shown us. The Khuleels, a tribe of Afghans, escorted us for about two miles 
to Kudun, and then handed us over to the genuine Khyberees, who occupied the 
gorge of the valley. The first salutation which we received from them was a 
message directing us to get rid of our escort: we accordingly sent the Khuleels 
back, and at once abandoned ourselves to the tender mercies of Ullah Dad Khan, 
the chief of the Kokee Khyl, who, with his numerous followers, led us to Ali Mus- 
jid, a weak fort in the centre of the pass. Our march was not without a degree 
of anxious excitement: we were moving among a savage tribe, who set the Sikhs 
at defiance, and who paid but an unwilling allegiance to Cabool; we had no guard 
of our own, except about a dozen Arabs, and we had considerable property with 
us. We were also stopped at every by-road and defile as we came among the dif- 
ferent subdivisions of the tribe. At jubugee they, in conclave, requested us to 
halt for the night, and pointed out the rock near which Nadir Shah had slept on 
his advance to India; but not even the historical association attached to the sleep- 
ing-place of that " Persian robber," as Gibbon calls him, could convince me of the 
propriety of halting there; and, after a good deal of parleying, we were allowed to 
advance, and reached Ali Musjid about eleven o'clock, all our baggage preceding 
us— a very necessary precaution in journeying among Khyberees. By the road 
they showed to us many small mounds, built to mark the spots where they had 
planted the heads of the Sikhs whom they had decapitated after the late victory: 
on some of these mounds locks of hair were yet to be seen. 

We had scarcely pitched our camp in the confined ground below Ali Musjid 
and in the dry bed of the river, when the rolling thunder gave notice of rain; and 
it soon came down in such torrents as must have washed us back to Jumrood, had 
it not been for the great activity of our own people and the assistance afforded us 
by the Khyberees. Tents, boxes, and everything were dragged by main force up 
the steep sides of the defile, on which we were constrained to remain, drenched to 
the skin and totally without shelter, and by no means in that placid state of mind 
which would enable us to have enjoyed the sublimity of the scene — for sublime it 
certainly was — the water rolling in a torrent down the bed of the pass, driving 
bushes and everything before it, whilst waterfalls in all directions and of all hues 
came rushing down around us, some of them in an unbroken leap of more than 
300 feet — all of these bursting out, one after another, from unseen crevices in the 
towering rocks by which we were surrounded. In all this confusion, and indeed 
throughout our previous march, we had a good opportunity of studying the Khy- 
ber Pass, which must always be formidable, and more especially so in rainy and 
boisterous weather. We had found the road as good as it had been represented; 
and the people, lawless as their habits undoubtedly are, had been more friendly 
than we could have hoped for. Next morning we were joined by Agha Jan, the 
Governor of Julalabad; the Momnnd chief, Sadut Khan; and a Shahghassee, or 
officer of the court, who came with about 5000 men; and the hills rang with 
shouts and noise of men and arms, during all which din and tumult we remained 
looking on as patiently as we could, but heartily wishing ourselves fairly out of 
the defile. This we effected on the following morning by a march of twenty 
miles to Duka, and at length cleared the far-famed pass of Khyber without an ac- 
cident. The last half of the pass is the most formidable; but even there it is per- 
' vious to heavy artillery. The formation is black slate and limestone rock, with 



50 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

deep beds of conglomerate, in which are rounded pebbles. At Ali Musjid the 
water jets beautifully out of the rock and flows towards Jumrood, but for some 
distance between these two places it has a subterraneous course. There is some- 
thing in this water which renders Khyber extremely unhealthy in the hot weather; 
and we were told, that after standing for a night it is covered with an oily sub- 
stance. 

In the last part of the road, at Lundee Khanu, a village composed of thirty or 
forty small forts, and built where the pass opens, we saw a "Tope" in good 
preservation, and in a commanding position. Farther on, and before reaching a 
place named "Huft chah," or the seven wells, we passed to our left a hill crowned 
by a long fort, and called by the inhabitants the "Kaffir Killa," or infidel's fort, to 
which tradition assigns a very ancient date. There is a ruin of a similar kind 
north of the Cabool river, and my inquiries led me to the conviction that there are 
many such remains in Afghanistan: they are doubtless the relics of former kings, 
whether the word "infidel" has reference to a Bactrian, a Greek, or a Hindoo. 

At Duka the whole of the chiefs of Khyber visited us: there are- four principal 
and several petty ones. They asserted that in the time of the kings of Cabool 
they received a lac and 32,000 rupees pay for guarding the pass, besides the 
transit-duties; and they offered, on a renewal of this, again to open the road to 
commerce. I found, however, that it was at this time actually open, and that 
Dost Mahommed had satisfied all their demands by the payment of some 15,000 
or 20,000 rupees a year; but their religious animosity towards the Sikhs was the 
best safeguard against an advance of that nation on Cabool in this direction. 
There are, besides, more obstacles to commerce in the Punjab than in the moun- 
tains of Khyber. The easy terms on which we were enabled to satisfy the Khy- 
berees for the friendly and really important services which they had rendered us 
did credit to their moderation. A few coarse gun-locks, some still coarser loongees 
and pelisses (choghas), with 375 rtfpees in cash, making the total value of the pay- 
ment about 500 rupees, satisfied all parties. An Ornkzye Ruhmutoollah came 
with us all the way from Peshawur: he was an eccentric being, with a tongue much 
too large for his mouth. We gave into his charge a palanqueen, in which Dr 
Lord, in consequence of indisposition, had been obliged to travel through the 
pass: no sooner was it intrusted to him than he very coolly seated himself in it, 
and ordered the astonished bearers to proceed. It was curious enough that we 
had been driven in a coach to Jumrood, and that one of our party had travelled in 
a palanqueen through Khyber. Too favourable ideas of Khyber society must not, 
however, be inferred from what I have stated: they live in miserable caves; and 
one tribe of them, the Momuzye Afreedees, I was positively assured, sometimes 
change their wives, paying the difference in value! When a man dies and leaves 
a widow without children, his brothers feel no hesitation in selling her. Altogether, 
the women are badly off", and do much of the laborious out-of-door work: their con- 
dition, however, is not such in all the tribes. 

We passed through Bassoul and Butteecote to Mazeina, a village near the base 
of Sufued Koh, where we halted by a fine stream of running water and in a bracing 
climate, which we greatly enjoyed after having been so long roasted on the Indus. 
The mountains near us were thickly clad with pines and julgoozas, and the snow 
was on their summits; but it was that of last year, as none had yet fallen. We 
next passed up the fine valleys of Nungeenar, and the districts of Chupreeal, to 
Beea and Kuju, and encamped in the latter on the 11th. This is the place so 
famed for its pomegranates without seed, although the best fruit is brought from vil- 
lages half-way up the mountains. Kuju has a hot summer, the elevation not being 
great. We have received abundant presents of fruit from Cabool, ehiefly peaches 
and pears; but we were admonished not to eat too freely of them until the autum- 
nal equinox, when all food is considered to have become wholesome. We now 
found ourselves in a country altogether different from that which we had left; beg-, 
gars and heat had ceased to annoy us, and, although the people crowded to see us, 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 51 

they were well-behaved and well clad; many of them had books under their arms, 
and, more strange to say, on their heads, for such appears to be the fashionable 
way of carrying octavos in these parts. These bookish men were of course 
Moollahs and students. The Hindoos of Kuju were numerous: they were Sikhs, 
and had a temple; but, nevertheless, professed poverty, to save themselves from the 
exactions which were imposed on the people for the purpose of carrying on war 
with the Punjab — a war which, they truly said, required a greater treasury than 
Cafcool could furnish. 

In Kuju we found a park of artillery, which had been detached from Julalabad, 
that the men might not suffer from the excessive heat. The pomegranate-growers 
were not within twenty days of their harvest, and the traders who transport the 
fruit to India were assembling in numbers. The tree differs altogether in appear- 
ance from the common pomegranate; and only grows at Kulghoo, Tootoo, His- 
saruk, and one or two other villages, which are beautifully situated above Kuju: 
the fruit comes to greater perfection if sheltered from the sun. 1500 or 2000 
camels laden with it leave the place yearly: it was selling for three rupees a hun- 
dred. The rind is also an article of considerable export, as it is used at Cabool in 
the preparation of leather, which, by means of it, they dress in a superiof manner. 
The great carriers are the Lohanees and Sheenwarees: the former go to India, but 
it would appear that the latter only pass between Cabool and Peshawur. Very 
fine camels are to be had from the one region, and mules still finer from the 
other. 

From Kuju we passed through the garden of Neemla to Gundamuk. This 
royal garden was in good order, and we halted to admire it: cypress-trees alternate 
with the chinar or plane; all of them reaching to the height of 100 feet, and, as 
the Persian verse has it, " holding each other by the hand and rivalling each other 
in beauty." The walks which they shade are lovely. We were here visited by 
the son of Shah Shooja's vizier, Akram Khan: he came with his two sons to ex- 
press his devotion to the British, and his hopes that he would be remembered for 
his father's sake, who fell at the king's stirrup. He put the hand of one of his 
sons into mine and said, " He is your slave: I have brought him by his mother's 
desire, and she was the daughter of the great Futteh Khan." Both the grand- 
fathers of this little fellow had, therefore, been viziers of the empire. Agha Jan, 
our conductor, speaking of Akram Khan, said " He had exalted ideas of kingly 
dignity, never relaxed into a smile, nor sat carelessly on the ground." I said that 
a great man should sometimes relax. He replied by relating an anecdote of Na- 
dir Shah, to whom one of his courtiers once made a similar remark, adding "That 
he might safely so indulge himself, as there was no one present to observe him." 
" What," answered his master, "is not Nadir Shaft himself present?" This said 
Agha Jan here took leave of us, being relieved by Nazir Ali Mahommed. »Agha 
Jan was a sedate, good sort of man; tolerably well informed, and very fond of 
wine, which, however, he took care to drink in secret. The best wine he told 
rne was to be procured from the Kaffir country, and in praise of the juice of the 
grape he quoted the Toorkee proverb: " Drink of it in moderation, that you may 
fight the lion: not in excess, that the crow may peck out your eyes." 

On our way to Jugduluk we passed the bridge of the Soorkhrood, the date of 
which is quaintly given in an inscription which is let into the rock, and of which 
the following is a translation: — 

"In the reign of the impartial Shah Jehan, the founder of this bridge was Ali 
Murdan Khan: I asked Wisdom the date of its erection; it answered, ' the builder 
of the bridge is Ali Murdan Khan:' " which words give the year of the Hegira 
1045; a. d. 1635. 

On this bridge I was welcomed by my old friend Hyat, the Cafila-bashee, who, 
after convoying me safely over Hindoo Koosh, now saw me returning from the 
opposite direction again to represent my nation. He brought with him a dozen 
mule-loads of fruit from the Nawab, and our meeting was a very cordial one. The 



52 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

worthy fellow seemed to me to look younger than when we parted: I clothed him 
in a Cashmere shawl, and he could scarcely speak for astonishment and delight. 
We ran over together our adventures in Hindoo Koosh; and I did not fail to take 
care of him who had so long taken good care of me, and gave him a comfortable 
tent and a good pilao. 

Here the chief, or, as he is called, Padshah of Kooner sent a ^messenger to tell 
me " his country was ours, and he hoped we would command his services: it ex- 
tended," he said, "from Nijrow to Bajour, and from Shew to Pushoot; and bor- 
dered on the Kaffirs, over whom he had influence." The bearer of this communi- 
cation was a Mooftee of a facetious turn of mind, who had been in the Punjab, and 
amused us with his accounts of an interview with Runjeet Sing, who interrogated 
him closely regarding the habits of the people to the west, and the state of their 
affairs. At last one of the courtiers, who understood Persian, asked if it were true, 
according to the couplet, that every woman at Cabool had a sweetheart. The 
Mooftee replied that he had seen nothing but courtesans since he had left his 
country, and gave in return a wittier verse than the one alluded to.* The Maha- 
raja at length gave him a dress of honour, and the Afghan was no sooner clad in it 
than some thirty cormorants demanded each his perquisite. This was too much- 
he returned into the presence of the Raja, placed his dress at his feet, and upon it 
the 200 rupees which he had received with it; and began as follows: " A person 
gave some cloth to a tailor to make into clothes, who, when it was brought home, 
demanded more for it than the value of the cloth. ' Take the garment,' said the 
man, 'and wait till I return with some borrowed money to discharge the demand.' 
So is it with me, Raja! Pray receive back the dress and money, till I can sell 
one of my horses and pay the balance of the fees which your courtiers demand." 
The merriment occasioned by this illustration saved the Mooftee from the usual 
exactions, and he left the court with his dress of honour, and his 200 rupees to 
boot. 

Near Jugduluk we saw holly-trees (beloot) to our left; and crossing a lofty pass 
of about 8500 feet, clad with pine-trees, descended direct upon Tezeen by a short 
route. From the summit of this, Lughman and Togour lay in sight beneath us: 
the distant hills over Cabool were pointed out to us: and behind us were the forests 
ofKurkuju. As we descended we observed the bitter almond and the mulberry, 
and a pleasing fragrance exhaled from the aromatic grass: there were also the wild 
lavender, the wild rose, and the thistle. Half-way up [this mountainpass our road 
led through the bed of a water-course, which was strewed with rounded pebbles; 
and, as we got higher up, the rock cropped out in vertical dykes. From Tezeen 
we passed the " huft kootul," or seven passes, to Khoord Cabool and Bootkhak, 
where we were joined by Mr. Masson, the well-known illustrator of Bactrian re- 
liques. It was a source of great satisfaction to all of us to make the acquaintance 
of this gentleman, and we were highly gratified by our intercourse with him. On 
the 20th of September we entered Cabool, and were received with great pomp and 
splendour by a fine body of Afghan cavalry, led by the Ameer's son, Akbar Khan. 
He did me the honour to place me on the same elephant upon which he himself 
rode, and conducted us to his father's court, whose reception of us was most cor- 
dial. A spacious garden, close by the palace and inside the Bala-Hissar of Cabool, 
was allotted to the mission as their place of residence. 

* Adam wu Huwa humih ek-abee und 
Wahee! bur an quoum ki Punj-abee und! 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 53 



CHAPTER VII. 

Interview with Dost Maliommed Khan — Gracious reception by the Ameer — Nawab Jubar Khan 
— State of affairs at Cabool — Siege of Herat — A Russian agent — Fears and hopes of the 
Ameer — Alchymy — Famous swords — Visit Koh-damun and Kohistan — Istalif — Its fine 
scenery — Wild inhabitants — Blood feuds and customs — Chareekar — Pass of Hindoo Koosh — 
Mines of Fureenjal — Ghorbund and Purwan rivers — Value of irrigation — Expenses of farm- 
ing — Reg Ruwan — Frequency of earthquakes — Objects of our tour — Begram — Topes — Water- 
fowl and animals — Return to Cabool. 

On the 21st of September we were admitted to a formal audience by Ameer 
Dost Maliommed Khan, and I then delivered to him my credentials from the 
Governor-General of India. His reception of them was all that could be desired. 
I informed him that I had brought with me, as presents to his highness, some of 
the rarities of Europe: he promptly replied that we ourselves were the rarities, 
the sight of which best pleased him.* Seeing our draftsman, Mr. Gonsalvez, he 
asked of what country he was, and, upon being told that he was a Portuguese, 
made many inquiries as to the present power and prospects of that nation. When 
he heard that the Portuguese had intermarried with Indians, he observed that their 
spell as Europeans was broken, and their fall certain. From the Ameer's audi- 
ence-chamber we proceeded to the Nawab Jubar Khan, who received us in his 
bath, and invited us to breakfast. As we passed through the city some of the 
people cried out, "Take care of Cabool!" "Do not destroy Cabool!" and 
wherever we went in this fine bustling place, we were saluted with a cordial 
welcome. Our visits were soon returned, both by the Ameer and his brother 
the Nawab. Power frequently spoils men, but with Dost Mahommed neither 
the increase of it, nor his new title of Ameer, seems to have done him any harm. 
He seemed even more alert and full of intelligence than when I last saw him. In 
reply to my inquiries regarding the descent of the Afghans from the Jews, he 
said, " "Why, we marry a brother's wife, and give a daughter no inheritance; — 
are we not, therefore, of the children of Israel?"t Speaking afterwards on our 
English law of inheritance, and of a daughter sharing with a son, the Ameer 
observed that it must have originated from the respect paid by Christians to the 
Virgin Mary. I did not deem it court etiquette to inform him that it was unne- 
cessary to go so far to find a reason for an act of common justice. 

It is difficult to proceed without saying a few words on the state of parties at 
Cabool: were I to omit doing so, I must fail to make my narrative intelligible. 
After the action at Jumrood with the Sikhs, both parties withdrew from the con- 
test, and the presence of the British had therefore the good effect of putting an 
end to the horrors of Avar. Scarcely however had tranquillity dawned on the 
east, when the Persians invaded Afghanistan on the west, and besieged Herat, 
from which, as is Well known, they only withdrew under an actual demonstration 
of our force in the Gulf of Persia, and in consequence of the threatening admo- 
nitions of the British government. These circumstances had a prejudicial effect 
at Cabool, which was further heightened by the presence of an agent from Russia, 
who reached the place some time after my arrival. To the east, the fears of Dost 

* I am indebted to my friend Lieut. Jas. Rattray, of the 2d Bengal N. I., for the por- 
trait of Dost Mahommed, which is a striking likeness. 

f I since find that the book from which the Jewish lineage of the Afghans is derived 
is the "Mujmoo i ansab;" and it is said that the Urz Bege of Hajee Feroz at Herat 
possess elaborate genealogical trees on the same subject. 



54 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

Mahommed Khan were allayed — to the west they were increased; and in this 
state of things his hopes were so worked upon, that the ultimate result was his 
estrangement from the British government. For the information of those who 
are interested in the exact condition and relations of Cabool, as it stood while 
these events were passing, I have, in an appendix, given a sketch (see Appendix 
No. III.) extracted from the printed records of government. 

One of the first applications which we received was from the Nawab, who 
requested us to supply him with some platina wire, to aid his studies in alchymy. 
I took the occasion to inquire into the state of the science, which has always been 
in such high favour among the Afghans, and was forthwith made acquainted with 
several ways of making gold, by which the adepts trick their credulous em- 
ployers. One of these is by secretly introducing some gold inside the charcoal, 
and, after the quicksilver has been evaporated, the more precious metal is left 
to delight the wiseacre, and to tempt him on to further expenses. Another 
method is to put the filings of gold into a stick or pipe, and fasten the end with 
wax; with this rod the materials in the crucible are stirred, and the desired result 
obtained. 

We found greater cause to admire the Afghans in their taste in swords than for 
their chemical studies. Some very fine blades were sent to us for our inspection 
by a decayed widow lady, whose husband had been one of the former Dooranee 
lords. One of these scimitars was valued at 5000 rupees, and the other two at 
1500 each. The first of these was an Ispahan sword, made by one Zaman, the 
pupil of Asad, and a slave of Abbas the Great. It was formed of what is called 
"Akbaree steel," and had belonged to Ghoolam Shah Calora of Sinde, whose 
name was upon it, and was brought from that country during the wars of Mudad 
Khan. The especial cause of its great value was that the water could be traced 
upon it, like a skein of silk, down the entire length of the blade. Had this 
watering been interrupted by a curve or cross, the sword would have been com- 
paratively valueless. The second was also a Persian sword of the water called 
"Begumee." The lines did not run down straight, but waved like a watered 
silk fabric. It had the name of Nadir Shah on it. The third was what is 
termed a "Kara" (black) Khorasan blade, of the water named "Bidr," and came 
from Casveen. There were neither straight nor waving lines in it, but it was 
mottled with dark spots. All these swords were light and well-balanced, the 
most valuable one was the most curved: the steel in all the three tinkled like a 
bell, and is said to improve by age. One test of the genuineness of a sword is 
that it can be written upon with gold; others, more certain, are its cutting through 
a large bone, and severing a silk handkerchief when thrown into the air. 

After the turmoil of eating dinners and receiving visitors had been got over, and 
our business put in train, we all of us determined to visit the far-famed mountain- 
skirts of Kho-damun and Kohistan, which are situated north of Cabool. The 
Ameer very readily granted us permission to do so, and appointed an individual 
of influence to conduct and protect us, several parts of the neighbourhood, parti- 
cularly north of the Ghoorbund river, or what is called Kohistan Proper, having only 
of late been brought under subjection. We set out from Cabool on the morning 
of the 13th of October, and halted at Kareez-i-Meer, about fifteen miles from 
which we could see, in the hazy distance, a vast vista of gardens extending for 
some thirty or forty miles in length, and half as broad, terminated by Hindoo 
Koosh itself, white with snow. Next day we reached Shukurdura, where there 
is a royal garden, but which is now in a state of decay. Our next march was to 
Kahdura, and thence to Istalif, the great point of attraction. No written descrip- 
tion can do justice to this lovely and delightful country. Throughout the whole 
of our route we had been lingering amidst beautiful orchards, the banks of which 
were clustered over with wild flowers and plants, many of them common to 
Europe, and which were also in profuse abundance along the margins of the in- 
numerable brooks which intersect the valleys. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 55 

The roads were shaded by noble and lofty walnut-trees, which excluded the 
sun's rays, never powerless in this climate. Every hill with a southern aspect 
had a vineyard on it, and the raisins were spread out on the ground, and imparted 
a purple tinge to the hills. There were very few songsters however to enliven 
the scene, most of the feathered tribe having flown to a warmer climate. The 
coldness of the air, which had driven them away, was to us bracing and delight- 
ful, and only served to increase our enjoyment. I must not, however, speak in 
detail of this charming country, nor do the far-famed gardens of Istalif require 
any aid from me to establish their supremacy. We pitched our camp on one side 
of the valley, and directly opposite to us, at a distance of about a thousand yards, 
rose the town of Istalif in the form of a pyramid, terrace on terrace, the whole 
crowned with a shrine embosomed among wide-spreading plane-trees. Between 
us lay a deep and narrow valley, at the bottom of which was a clear, rapid, and 
musically-sounding brook, on both sides of which the valley was covered with the 
richest orchards and vineyards. Looking down this stream, the dell gradually 
opens out, and presents to the eye a vast plain, rich in trees and verdure, and 
dotted over with innumerable turreted forts: beyond all this, rocky mountains are 
seen with the fresh snow of yesterday upon them; and over these again tower the 
eternal snow-clad summits of Hindoo Koosh. The scene was as sublimely grand 
as it was beautiful and enchanting. The yellow autumnal leaves rustled in the 
breeze, and the crystal waters rushed in their rapid course over craggy rocks with 
a noise which reached the summit of the valley. Thessalian Tempe could never 
have more delighted the eyes of an Ionian, than did Istalif please Boeotian Britons. 
The people illuminated their town in the evening, in honour of their visitors. It 
had a pretty effect, but the beauties of art could not in our opinion compete with 
those of nature. Not so with our escort: they declared that Istalif had at all 
times been the abode of pleasure, and that, without wine, not only would the 
illumination lose its value, but Nature herself would be worth nothing. We 
accordingly sent a few bottles of wine, to which they did the amplest justice, 
although the " Moohtussib," a chief constable of Cabool, was of the party. 
On the following day I taxed him with this departure from the rules of his sect. 
He bore my bantering with great equanimity, and replied, with mock heroic 
dignity, " Who, my lord, suspects me, — me, the '- Moohtussib,' — of indulging in 
wine? My duty is to reform the morals of others." 

It is a source of deep regret that this beautiful country should be inhabited by 
a race of men so turbulent and vindictive as the Tajiks have here proved them- 
selves to be; and yet, throughout Afghanistan generally, these same Tajiks form 
the most peaceable classes of the population. Here, however, their blood-feuds 
are erdless: a week never passes without strife or assassination, and I have been 
assured, on the best authority, that a man frequently remains immured in his own 
tower for two and three years from a fear of his enemies, leaving his wife to take 
care of his property, and discharge his duties; nay, that in some instances this 
. durance has lasted for eight and ten years. It is rare to see a man go to bathe, 
hunt, or even ride out, without a part of his clan attending him as a guard. 
Lately a strong government has in some respects softened down these asperities; 
but the retribution of blood, which the Mahommedan law allows, fatally perpe- 
tuates these sanguinary habits. " Blood for blood" is their motto and their rule; 
and as they still rigidly follow it up, every fresh act of violence increases the 
number of feuds, and extends the misery resulting from them still more widely. 

Children born of different mothers and the same fathers are seldom cordial 
friends; and, singular enough, the word " turboor" among them has the double 
signification of cousin and rival. When any rebellion is excited, it is customary 
for the government to expel the traitor, and raise up his " turboor," or cousin, to 
govern in his stead. If you ask the natives of Kohistan why such desperate 
habits have become familiar to them, they will gravely tell you that they result 
from their heating diet of mulberries — that fruit, dried and pounded into flour, 



56 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

being the general food of the population. These people have the reputation of 
being the best foot-soldiers in Afghanistan, and from all I could learn they merit the 
distinction. They are a healthy and handsome race, and are alike fond of sport 
and of war. In time of need as many as twenty thousand of them have taken 
the field, well armed with flint-lock muskets. Dost Mahommed rules them with 
a rod of iron, and has executed many of the principal men. Many others, to 
whom independence and lawless liberty were dearer than their possessions, have 
fled the country, and now cultivate fields among the fens of Koondooz and Balkh, 
voluntarily exposing themselves to poverty and hardship, rather than submit to 
any regularity of government in their native glens. In bygone times Nadir Shah 
himself is said to have been satisfied with a tribute of three hundred tent-pins 
from Doornanu, one of their districts; and the kings of Cabool apportioned this 
country under an easy tenure to their nobles, contenting themselves with the 
military sevices of the people. The present chief of Cabool has, on the contrary, 
been constrained, in order to maintain his power, to destroy many of their forts, 
which were scattered in clusters all over the valley, and is anxious to reduce the 
inhabitants to the state of citizens. On our return route from Istalif we passed 
through Isterghich, Sinjet-dura, Tope-dura, Si-yaran, and Chareekar, the last a 
large bazar-town of about ten thousand inhabitants. All these places are faith- 
fully described by the Emperor Baber. They are a succession of separate val- 
leys at the base of lofty mountains, glowing and rich in foliage, which forms a 
striking contrast to the bleak ground by which they are divided, and the still 
bleaker hills that rise above them. Wherever nature or the hand of man has 
conducted water, there are to be seen gardens and orchards; and the surplus 
water, which runs down lower into the valley, nourishes rich crops of grain. 

Chareekar lies on the high road between Cabool and Toorkistan, and we saw 
many travellers hastening to and from both places, as the approaching winter 
would soon put a stop to all journeyings. Conversation with these people so 
much excited the curiosity of Lieutenant Leech and Dr. Lord, that they resolved 
to attempt to climb the mountains, and examine the celebrated pass of Hindoo 
Koosh. This they effected in a satisfactory manner by a route through the val- 
leys of Ghoorbund and Konshan, dressed as Asiatics, and under the guidance of 
honest Hyat, the Cafila Bashee. They found the actual pass to be about 15,000 
feet high, consequently in elevation little inferior to that of Mont Blanc. They 
attained it on the 19th of October, and learned that it would be finally closed by 
the snow in about ten days; after which, until the spring, no caravan could pass. 
The ascent had been very gradual to within twelve or fifteen miles of its sum- 
mit, nor was any considerable difficulty experienced till within a mile of the pass. 
The track then became very steep, and in consequence of a partial thaw, very 
slippery and dangerous. The horses fell and appeared much distressed, and the 
party was obliged to dismount and proceed on foot. They did not experience 
any personal inconvenience, but the natives informed them that they, themselves, 
were frequently seized with giddiness, faintness, and vomiting. The summit of 
Hindoo Koosh was of pure granite. On the southern side the snow only ex- 
tended for four or five miles, while on the northern it reached eighteen or twenty. 
This difference of climate appears to be characteristic of these regions, for Dr. 
Lord afterwards found at the pass of Sir-alung, which is next to that of Hindoo 
Koosh, that on the southern side the ground was clear of snow within ten miles 
of the summit, although on the northern face it extended for sixty miles. On 
their return they visited the rich lead-mines of Fureenjal, the underground work- 
ings of which are so extensive, that they were occupied nearly three hours in 
examining them. Farther down the valley of Ghoorbund, they came to the 
magnificent cavern of Fulgird, which they explored for three or four hundred 
yards, but found nothing to reward them, except some very large and transparent 
stalactites. The whole country appears to be rich in minerals. 

While our two fellow-travellers were employed in their exciting journey, Lieu- 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 57 

tenant Wood and myself continued our wanderings in Kohistan. About four miles 
north of Chareekar, we found the country abruptly sink nearly an hundred feet, 
and presenting a scene of unrivalled cultivation. Through this basin or valley 
ran the rivulets of Ghoorbund, Purvvan, and Punjsheer, all of which we crossed. 
At this season they were clear, rapid brooks, with stony beds, and easily forded: 
in spring and summer they are much swollen. They all unite at the celebrated 
ruins of Begran, and, passing Joolga and Tugow, reach Tungi Gharoi twenty 
miles from Cabool, where there is a water-fall which interrupts the navigation. It 
is one of the great amusements of the people to ensnare the fish as they leap up 
this cascade. Immediately on crossing the river of Ghoorbund, we entered Ko- 
histan Proper, a country rich without parallel. It is of no great extent, its form 
being that of the segment of a circle, the length of which is about sixteen or 
eighteen miles, and five or six its greatest depth. The fertility and productive- 
ness of the soil is equalled by the industry of the people, who, forming bank above 
bank, acquire, as it were, land from their stony hills, all of which they irrigate 
with a care and zeal greatly to be admired. Aqueducts may be often seen fifty 
and sixty feet up the hill, conducted round every swell and valley, till at last they 
pour out their contents on the embanked fields. Irrigation from natural rivulets 
is, of course, more economical than by canals or subterraneous watercourses. 
Near Chareekar there are some magnificent artificial canals, which, according to 
the people, are as old as the days of Timour. The canals are either dug by the 
government, or the villagers make common cause. If the former, the revenue 
derived is considerable, one hundred rupees per annum being charged for every 
place through which the supply passes. In some parts of the country the water', 
after being conducted, is made free property: in others it is carefully distributed 
and sold. A cut from a canal ten fingers broad and five deep is sufficient to irri- 
gate eight khurwars of grain. Much abuse, however, attends the subdivision of 
the water, and the owners of lands at the lower extremity of a canal are often 
obliged to watch over the proceedings of those who live higher up, and even to 
bribe them not to damage their fields by stopping the supply; nay, battles are 
sometimes fought for the water. For one night's supply to a crop of twenty 
khurwars, from fifty to one hundred rupees are sometimes given. 

On the prices of farming and labour in this country I gathered the following 
particulars. A landlord who farms his estate is understood to pay one-third of the 
total produce for sowing, rearing and reaping. The state takes a third, and the 
remaining third falls to the proprietor. In this case, however, he furnishes the 
seed, and water for irrigation. If the proprietor also furnishes .cattle, and all the 
materials, &c, which are required, the labourers then receive only one-sixth for 
their irouble. *It is not usual to hire daily labourers; but when a plough, two 
men, and a pair of oxen are so employed, the wages are half a Khan rupee, or 
three-eighths of a Company's rupee, per diem. Afghanistan is a cheaper country 
than Persia, for grain is more abundant. The returns of seed sown vary, of 

•course, with the nature of the grain and the quality of the soil. Wheat yields 
from ten to sixteen-fold, seldom more than fifteen; rice gives sixteen or eighteen; 
juwaree as much as fifty-fold. The best soil in the district of Cabool is at Deh 
Afghanee, a village in the suburbs, where a jureeb of land, or half an English 
acre, produces a rent of ten tomauns or 200 rupees, and yields, besides the profits 
of the proprietor, a revenue as high as forty rupees to government; but this is 
ground on which vegetables are reared, the sale of which is highly advantageous, 
for the Afghans preserve cabbages, carrots, and turnips, as we do potatoes, placing 

, them on the ground, with a little earth over them and leaves, so that they are thus 
kept fresh till April. 

Some of the natives of Kohistan bore a strong resemblance to the people be- 
yond the mountains, and they repeated to us traditions which went to prove that 
they had crossed them in the days of Timour. In several places they spoke cor- 



58 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

rupted Toorkee, and among the villages two were named Togh Verdee and Togh 
Bogha. There was, however, a more remarkable race inhabiting the valley of 
Punjsheer, who spoke the Pushye dialect, and whom I shall shortly mention. A 
few of the people were Safee Afghans, or of the tribe which inhabits Nijrow, an 
extensive valley eastward of Kohistan, and deeply indenting the range of Hindoo 
Koosh. 

As we were now in the vicinity of " Reg-Ruwan," or the moving sand, we made 
an excursion to it. It is a phenomenon similar to what is seen at Jubul Nakoos, 
or the sounding mountain, near Too in the Red Sea. The Emperor Baber thus 
describes it: — "Between the plains there is a small hill, in which there is a line 
of sandy ground, reaching from the top to the bottom. They call it Khwaju 
Reg-Ruwan: they say that in the summer season the sound of drums and nugarets 
issues from the sand." 

The description of Baber, however marvellous it appears, is^pretty accurate. 
Reg-Ruwan is situated about forty miles north of Cabool, towards Hindoo Koosh, 
and near the base of the mountains. Two ridges of hills, detached from the rest, 
run in and meet each other. At the point of junction, and where the slope of the 
hills is at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and the height nearly 400 feet, a 
sheet of sand, as pure as that on the seashore, is spread from the top to the bottom, 
to a breadth of about 100 yards. When this sand is set in motion by a body of 
people sliding down it a sound is emitted. On the first trial we distinctly heard two 
loud, hollow sounds, such as would be produced by a large drum. On two subse- 
quent' trials we heard nothing: so that perhaps the sand requires to be settled and at 
rest some space of time before the effect can be produced. The inhabitants have 
a belief that the sounds are only heard on Friday; nor then, unless by the special 
permission of the saint of Reg-Ruwan, who is interred close to the spot. The 
locality of the sand is remarkable, as there is no other in the neighbourhood. Reg- 
Ruwan faces the south, but the wind of Purwan (bad i Purwan), which blows 
strongly from the north for the greater part of the year, probably deposits it by an 
eddy. Such is the violence of this wind, that all the trees in the neighbourhood 
bend to the south, and the fields, after a few years, require to be re-cleared of the 
pebbles and stones, which the loss of soil lays bare. The mountains around are, 
for the most part, composed of granite or mica, but at Reg-Ruwan we found sand- 
stone, lime, slate, and quartz. Near the strip of sand there is a strong echo, and 
the same conformation of surface which occasions this is doubtless connected with 
the sound of the moving sand. 

In a late number of the "Journal of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta" there is an 
extract of a letter from Lieutenant Wellsted of the Indian navy, in which he de- 
scribes the sounding mountain in the Red Sea, which has also been mentioned by 
Gray and Seetzen. There would appear, however, to be some variation in the 
kind of sound produced in the two places; but both are, I suppose, explained by 
the theory laid down by Mr. James Prinsep regarding Jubl Nakoos,. who says 
that the effecl is there produced merely by "a reduplication of impulse, setting 
air in vibration in a focus of. echo." At all events we have at Reg-Ruwan an- 
other example of the phenomenon, to excite the curiosity of those interested in 
acoustics. Reg-Ruwan is seen from a great distance; and the situation of the 
sand is so peculiar, that it might almost be imagined the hill had been cut in two, 
and that it had gushed from the opening as from a sand-bag: the probability, how- 
ever, is, that it has been brought together by the wind. 

Convulsions of nature are exceedingly common in^this part of the world. Baber 
mentions one to have occurred in his time, and in this very plain: " so that in 
some places the ground was elevated to the height of an elephant above its old 
level, and in others as much depressed." A severe earthquake took place in Ca- 
bool six years ago, and shocks happen as frequently as twice or thrice in a month. 
We had no less than three of these on the 14th of December, and many before 
and after that dav: but thev were all slight. A passing shake, with a rumbling 



■•-<-. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 59 

noise, is called " goozur," to distinguish it from " zilzilla," or earthquake, the 
term used by the inhabitants when a tremulous motion takes place. 

Our geological and other similar researches in Kohistan naturally led to our 
being questioned as to the particular object of our pursuit. " We are seeking," 
said I to a Mahommedan, "for the organic remains of a former world." After 
ascertaining from me that Christians and Mahommedans agree on the subject of 
the deluge, he observed that, "when Mahomed was asked what existed before the 
world, he answered, the world; and he repeated the same answer seven times. I 
can, therefore," continued the Moslem, " well understand the motives of your 
search." Another individual with whom I fell into the same conversation ob- 
served, "We do not even know ourselves; what can we know, therefore, of the 
past and present world?" The remark, however, of my first acquaintance will 
serve to show that it probably will not be a difficult task to explain to the Moslem 
the mysteries which geologists have of late years so successfully unravelled. 

After a delightful tour we turned our steps towards Cabool, taking the ancient 
city of Begram by the way. It is supposed to be the " Alexandria ad calcem 
Caucausi," and the merit of its discovery is due to Mr. Masson, who, during 
many successive years, disinterred thousands of coins on its site, which is in a 
vast plain, extending for miles and covered with tumuli. A citadel of natural 
strength and in a commanding position overlooks the low land of Kohistan, and 
the three rivers in one wash its base. It is called by some " Kaffir Killa," 
the infidel fort; and by others Abdollas tower (boorj). No part of it is now inha- 
bited, but its extensive aqueducts may yet be traced, and if repaired would greatly 
increase the fertility of the country. The position is one well suited for a capi- 
tal; dry, flat, and elevated, in a rich country, and near the foot of the passes 
which lead to and from Tartary. Within a few miles of it, at Topedura and 
Joolga, are two of those curious remnants of former ages called "Topes." They 
have been opened, and their contents of boxes and coins prove their age. Ano- 
ther of them, called Sir Baolee, in Nijrow, near a cave, and covered with a glazed 
blue coating, yet remains intact to stimulate future inquiry. I will not enter upon 
the questio vexata of these works. Their antiquity is undoubted, and merely in 
crossing them we picked up coins. I contented myself with having a care- 
ful topographical drawing of the whole prepared, which I transmitted to my friend, 
General Court, at Lahore, who had expressed great anxiety for it. I believe he 
has since transmitted it to Paris, and that it now lives in the archives of the Asia- 
tic Society of that capital. 

The rivers in this vicinity were well stored with fish, and, as it appeared to 
me, with ducks also, at which I fired; when, to my great surprise, I found they 
were but decoy-ducks, admirably executed, and which deceived their natural re- 
presentative as they did me, for thousands are at this season enticed by them, and 
ensnared during night by the villagers. Water-fowl abound in these parts: I 
made a collection of no less than forty-five different species of ducks, and it was 
quite evident that many additions might have been made. The finest are the 
large red duck, and the mallard, which looks like the tame duck in its wild state. 
Besides the water-fowl, they brought to us the skin of another bird of passage, 
called "kujeer," which, when stripped of its feathers, has a rich down left on it, 
which is much used in pelisses. But the rara avis of Kohistan was the " kubk 
i duree," a bird somewhat less than a turkey, and of the partridge or chiccore 
species. It was first procured for us in Ghoorbund, but as the snow falls it may 
be had nearer Cabool. For the table, it is not surpassed by any bird: but it must 
be killed when caught, since it loses its flavour in a tame state. The " dugh- 
dour," a kind of bustard, was also seen here. In Kohistan the most active 
search is made for all animals which yield fur, that being an article in high de- 
mand in Cabool. There are eight or ten different species to be found here, 
amongst which are the lynx, the gor-kun, and the moosh-khoorma; but the one 
most sought after is the " dila khufuk," a large weasel, of grayish colour, and 



60 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

white in the neck. The Galago crassicaudatus of Cuvier was also brought to us; 
and the Huzara rat, which is a creature without a tail. Porcupines and hedge- 
hogs abound. Marmots were likewise caught, but the hares in this country are 
few, and small in size; and, with the exception of water-fowl, there is little which 
a sportsman calls game, although the Afghans hunt everything that yields a fur. 
Bears of a reddish-brown colour and wolves make their appearance in winter; as 
also the red fox, and the common reynard, which is larger than in India, and 
would not disgrace an English field. The people spoke much of the " sug i 
kohee," or dog of the hills, brought from the Huzara country, but I doubt if it 
be really the wild dog, as the region has no wood or jungle. Its young are most 
sought after. There is also in the same region an animal of a like nature to our 
badger, and called " tibbergam," which takes to the ground in winter. From 
Nijrow they brought to us a large bird called " unkash:" it was either the condor 
or a vulture. Some fine specimens of wild sheep and goats were seen here. 
They are natives of Hindoo Koosh; and for full particulars regarding them I re- 
fer the naturalist to Dr. Lord's very accurate account, which will be found in 
Appendix V. 

On our route we alighted at Ak-Surai, a flourishing village about twenty miles 
from Cabool. In one of its gardens many families were residing under the trees, 
as is common during summer in this country. Several of them were preparing 
grape-jelly, called " sheeru." They first squeeze the ripe Kismiss grape in a 
wicker basket, from which the juice escapes into a jar, after which it is put on 
the fire and boiled: it is used in making sherbet. The squeezed husks of the 
grapes they give to cows and horses. While resting under a tree at a little dis- 
tance and watching this process, a damsel sent me some kabobs, spitted on a twig 
of willow and well roasted, which I enjoyed vastly after a march of nearly thirty 
miles. I suppose I was indebted to the intervention of the officer with me for the 
fair lady's civility; but as my baggage was in the rear I was doubly thankful. I 
afterwards retired to the house of a Hindoo in the town, where I rested for the 
remainder of the day, evidently affording great amusement to all the neighbours of 
my host; the situation in which I sat enabling them to peep down upon me from 
every direction, as if I had been shut up in one of the central cells of Bentham's 
Panopticon. Next morning we rose early, and, crossing the pass of Paeen 
Moonara and the lake, soon found ourselves in Cabool. On the way we met 
many travellers, most of them women, still hurrying across the mountains, chiefly 
to Inderab. They were all on horseback; one horse sometimes carrying a woman, 
her child, and a slave-girl. They were well clad to keep out cold, and the men 
had mottled stockings, or overalls, of worsted, that came up the thigh and looked 
extremely comfortable. Entering Cabool from this side, we were shown two 
mounds dose to the Bala Hissar, called the " Khak i Balkh," from a tradition 
that when the Afghans took that city they half-filled their grain-bags with earth 
taken from it, and which they threw down where it now lies as a trophy of con- 
quest. I fear the mounds are too large, and too closely resemble the neighbour- 
ing soil, to admit of the reception of this proud legend. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 61 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Cabnol — Agent from Moorad Beg of Koondooz— Letter from the Chief— His change of policy — 
Answer given to it — The Envoy's character of his Chief— Dr. Lord's journey to Koondooz — 
Extracts from his letters — Arrival and reception — Conversations with Moorad Beg — The 
invalid's a hopeless case — The Chief's friendship — Lieutenant Wood's journey — Syud of 
Talikhan, the friend of Moorcroft — Atalik Beg — Moorcroft's books, &c. — Date of his death — 
Mr. Trebeck's character — Customs of Uzbeks — Marriages — Man-selling — Traffic in wives- 
Mode of salaam — Circumcision — Enormous eating — Horse-racing and prizes — Amusements. 

On our return to Cabool I had the unexpected pleasure of finding there an 
Elchee, or agent, from Moorad Beg, the chief of Koondooz. Ever since my 
arrival in the country I had been endeavouring to conciliate this hostile personage: 
I had addressed not only his minister, but the ruler himself, by the intervention 
of certain merchants. I had not forgotten the dangerous situation in which I had 
once found myself in his country; and, as subsequent conduct on his part towards 
Dr. Gerard and Mr. Vigne showed that his asperity towards Europeans was little 
abated, I was not prepared for the gratifying prospect that now developed itself. 
The Elchee waited upon me, and presented to me the following letter from his 
master. It was addressed to " Sikunder Burnes, Firingee Angrez," and after 
sundry compliments ran ihus: " I have heard much of you and the great wisdom 
you possess: I have learned from many quarters that you are as the renowned 
Hippocrates among wise men. My younger brother has become dim-sighted: if 
you can cure him I will be very thankful to you, and send him to Cabool. If it 
please God that the eyes of my brother be cured, you will have a great name 
throughout Toorkistan (Tartary). The bearer of this, Mirza Budeea, will tell 
you all, and rely upon what he says. Accept also the horse, which I send to you 
as a rarity from this country and a remembrance of me." 

Here indeed was a change of fortune, when contrasted with that day on which 
I had been dragged as a suspected culprit to Koondooz. An opportunity was 
now afforded us not only of terminating Moorad Beg's hostility, but also of making 
him our friend, and, by his means, of pushing our inquiries even to Pamere and 
the sources of the Oxus. The time was not one for hesitation, and the plans 
determined upon will be fully shown by my reply to his epistle, which was as 
follows: " I have received your letter with the greatest satisfaction, and I feel 
sensibly the confidence which you place in me, and still more so the high opinions 
which you entertain of European knowledge. It is a source of much regret to 
me that one so dear to you as a brother should labour under a disease so afflicting 
as a threatened loss of sight; but where would be the proof of the friendly feelings 
which I entertain towards you, if I allowed such a one to cross the snows of 
Hindoo Koosh and seek for medical aid in Cabool? In company with me is a 
physician renowned and skilled in the sciences of Europe: the cure of disease is 
in the hands of God, but Dr. Lord and Mr. Wood will omit nothing which can 
render their services valuable to you. These gentlemen are servants of the 
Government of India, and my fellow-travellers: they are very dear to me, and I 
commend them to your care. That which has passed between your confidential 
agent, Mirza Budeea, and myself will be made known to you: the promise which 
he has made to me, as to the restoration of the papers and books of the lamented 
Moorcroft, is worthy of yourself. As the sight of your own brother is dear to 
you, so are the relics of a countryman who died in a distant country dear to all 
his friends and relations." Dr. Lord and Lieutenant Wood forthwith made every 



62 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

arrangement for commencing this highly interesting journey, as it was resolved 
that they themselves should be the bearers of this letter, and also of sundry 
curiosities as presents to the chief. All this was arranged not without reluctance 
on the part of Dost Mahommed Khan, who wished to summon the Uzbek to 
Cabool: his objections, however, were at last overcome, and the prediction of the 
' Edinburgh Review,' when speaking of my last work, was thus fully verified: 
" The turbulence of Moorad Beg has been subdued by a mission." 

Before, however, I relate the departure of my fellow-travellers, I must give a 
few particulars of the information which I received from Mirza Budeea, a loqua- 
cious, simple-minded, but honest Uzbek, who stood high in the confidence of the 
chief of Koondooz; nor am I deterred from doing so by the subsequent and more 
accurate information acquired during the journey of the two travellers. 

The Mirza faithfully promised me to attend with zeal and fidelity to the 
wants of my companions, and enlarged on the bounty of his master to every 
one, even to those he subdued. He dwelt at great length on the activity 
which he evinced in his " chupaos," or forays; on the liberality which led 
him to kill fifteen sheep a-day in his own house, and sometimes to entertain 
1000 persons; and seemed, in fact, lost in admiration of the " tyrant of Koon- 
dooz," on whose fame and power he discoursed con amove. " My master," 
said he, "can bring 20,000 good cut-horses to proceed on ' allamanee' (plunder) 
for forty davs; and man and beast will exist, each day, on three handsful of grain 
and a bit of bread as large as the hand.'' He stated that the Mir was accustomed 
to assemble these men at a certain place, and that none knew what would be the 
direction of the foray, whether to the Huzara country, to near Candahar, Balkh, 
Durwaz, Shufflinan, Shah Kutore's country, or to that of the Kaffirs. He added 
that the only people who were harshly treated in the Koondooz dominions were 
those whose countries had been captured, and that this was necessary for the 
preservation of peace; but Shah Mahmood of Doornaz, whom without interroga- 
tion he called the descendant of Alexander the Great, had, he said, been much 
favoured. "We Uzbeks," said Mirza Budeea, " live on horseback: we have 
none of your trading as in Cabool. Dost Mahommed bids me inform my master 
that man-selling is discreditable; but I tell him to negotiate with his new ally, the 
king of Bokhara, and make him prohibit man-purchasing, and that then the enor- 
mity of man-selling would soon cease. We have the power to shut up the cara- 
van-roads from Cabool to Bokhara," continued he, " which would injure both 
places and not in the least affect us — we scorn to do it: we dress in mottled gar- 
ments, the produce of our own country and Toorkistan, while every one here 
wears European chintzes, &c, and their ruler's subsistence is largely derived 
from the duties levied on those articles: from such a source Moorad Beg has 
never sought profit. He lives contentedly at Koondooz: the eastern part of his 
country he gives to his son, Shah Moorad Khan, who has the title of Atalik 
Khan, and also rules over Budukshan, Shughnan, and Talighan: to his brother, 
Mahmood Beg, he intrusts his northern limits, Bulijeewan, &c; while he him- 
self at Koondooz manages the. country south and west of it. The whole stretch 
of his power is about fifty days' journey, from Sir-i-kool to near Balkh, although 
he interferes but little with some of the intervening tracts. From Shughnan he 
takes but 500 ' yamoos,' or ingots of silver: from Chitral he receives slaves more 
beautiful than the Kaffirs, and these he distributes to his Begs, or sends to Bok- 
hara: he mulcts no strangers who come to his country, and even Chinese may pass 
through it." I have thus left the Elchee to speak for himself, and my own leading 
questions to be inferred. He said he had partly satisfied himself that we were not 
infidels, but had a good book of our own and much knowledge; adding that he had 
five sons, and begging me to write their names down in the book of Firingees. 
After this long conversation we strolled about the garden in which was our resi- 
dence, and which was beautifully adorned with variegated stock and other flow- 
ers; and I asked him if Toorkistan had such a display? His reply did not do 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. . 63 

much honour to his taste: " Fools and fakeers (devotees)," he said, " only attend 
to such things." Mirza Budee, however, proved himself an atniahle, worthy 
man. I regret to add that he was barbarously assassinated a few months after 
this interview. 

On the third of November Dr. Lord and Lieutenant Wood set out on their 
journey by Purwan* and the Sir-aulung Pass, in ascending which they expe- 
rienced a terrific snow-storm: some of their followers became incoherent in their 
speech, others went raving mad; and the party were compelled to return to Ca- 
bool, and finally took the road by Bamian. I shall leave them hereafter to de- 
scribe their own adventures, and will at present only give the following extracts 
from Dr. Lord's letters to myself: they will be read with deep interest, and with 
a melancholy regret at the death of their energetic and accomplished writer: — 

" Koondooz, 7th Dec, 1837. 
" We left Cabool on the 15th of November, and arrived here in perfect health 
and safety on the 4th of the present month, having experienced no difficulty worth 
mentioning on the way. On the 21st we had reached Bamian, and next day en- 
tered Mir Moorad Beg's territories, from which moment the Mirza Budeea took 
on himself the duties of Mihmandar, and continued to perform them with the 
utmost regidarity and attention. We held the direct road as far as Koorum, 
which being his jag-hire, we halted there one day to oblige him, and had the 
satisfaction to receive a letter from the Mir expressing his regret at the difficulties 
he heard we had experienced in our first attempt at crossing Hindoo Koosh, and 
his satisfaction at hearing that we had now safely reached his country. There was 
a letter from Atma Dewan Begee, requesting we would send him full information 
of our movements, and when we might be expected. To this I despatched an 
answer; but our messenger had delayed so much on the road, that we reached 
Aleeabad, within one stage of Koondooz, before he had delivered his letter. In 
consequence, on our arrival at Aleeabad there was no one to meet us as had been 
intended. The Mirza expressed much disappointment at this, and requested leave 
to precede us next morning, saying he was certain the cassid could not have 
arrived. He did so, and about four miles from Koondooz we were met by the 
Dewan Begee himself, who, on receiving from the Mirza news of our approach, 
had hurried out to receive us with whatever horsemen were at hand. We after- 
wards learned it was intended the Mir's brother (my patient) should have come, 
but he happened to be asleep when the Mirza arrived: he came, however, to visit 
us on the very evening of our arrival, at a most comfortable house of Atma's, 
where we dismounted, and which has been placed entirely at our disposal. We 
received also a congratulatory message from the Mir, desiring us to consider the 
country as our own: this was followed by a present of tea and sweetmeats; and 
next morning, having heard that we had used native costume on our journey, he 
sent each of us a full suit of Uzbek clothing and a present in money of 200 rupees. 
He also intimated that we might name our own time for paying him a visit, which, 
as we required a day to prepare, we arranged for the following morning. In the 
evening I had along visit from Atma, who came after dinner and sat with me more 
than three hours; during which I took occasion to explain to him the objects of 
your mission as far as they could be interesting to him; mentioned the views of 
our government in opening the navigation of the Indus, and their intention of 
establishing a fair somewhere on its banks. He appeared much pleased and struck 
with the intelligence, and made many inquiries respecting the rate of tolls, duties, 
&c. I mentioned Runjeet Sing's fleet of twenty boats going to Bombay, and said 

* It was at this very place that Dr. Lord afterwards fell, in the last action with Dost 
Mahommed Khan, on the 2d of Novemher, 1840, when two squadrons of the 2nd Bengal 
Cavalry basely fled hefore our eyes and sacrificed their officers. I had to deplore the loss 
of two dear friends, Dr. Lord, and Lieutenant J. S. Broadfoot, of the Bengal Engineers, 
an officer of the highest promise. 



64 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

our government as an encouragement had promised they should enter free of all 
duties. 

" Just as I had written this, Atma called and brought with him a letter of yours, 
which had been round by the way of Khooloom, and had only just been forwarded 
by his agent, Chumundass. It was opened and read in my presence, and he was 
evidently most highly gratified by the expressions of friendship it contained, and 
which I assured him were no more than what you really felt: he has desired me 
in return to give his best salaam, and assure you that himself and everything he 
has shall be at our service as long as we remain here. 

" But to continue my journal. 

" Next day, December 6th, we went to wait on the Mir. He appeared to us 
quite a plain, good old man; came outside his door and down his steps to 
receive us; gave us his hand, invited us in, and placed us at the top of the hall, 
while he himself sat down at one side, and those few courtiers who were allowed 
to sit occupied the other: the greater number stood below a couple of pillars which 
divided the upper from the lower end of the hall. The Mir then inquired after 
your health, and said it was an honour that Firingees had come to visit him. 
After a little conversation I produced your letter, which was read, and which he 
pronounced at its termination to be full of kindness. I then said you had sent 
some presents, of which, though not worthy of him, you begged his acceptance. 
This, he said, was quite unexpected — our coming he looked on as a great thing, 
and never looked for anything more: on the presents being produced he examined 
each of them with much attention, appeared pleased, and, I heard afterwards from 
the Mirza, was highly satisfied. He then resumed the conversation, inquired 
about the relative size of Firingistan (Europe) and Hindostan, the nature of our 
power in the latter, and whether it had any other king than ours: this enabled me 
to mention the kings whom we had pensioned, with which he seemed much 
struck; and one of his Mirzas explained to him that it was the policy of the 
English, when they conquered a country, to keep in place those whom they found 
in it, by which means they avoided driving people to despair, and more easily 
attached them to their government. He then inquired whether the Russians or 
English were the cleverest: to which the same Mirza, a Peshawuree as I have 
since learned, at once replied that the English were far the cleverest people in all 
Firingistan; an assertion which I did not feel myself called on to contradict. 
After a little further conversation we took our leave, and I next went to visit my 
patient, and regret to say his case is almost hopeless, being amaurosis (gutta se- 
rena), complete and of eight years' standing in one eye, incomplete and of eigh- 
teen months' duration in the other. I have fairly informed him that I consider 
the former quite gone, and that I have but slender hopes of benefiting the latter; 
but that, as his general health, and particularly his digestive powers, seem much 
impaired, I shall require some time to improve these before I give him a definite 
answer regarding the chances of recovering his eye-sight. On this understanding 
I have commenced his treatment. 

" I had almost forgotten to say that during our interview with the Mir, though 
he spoke freely of Moorcroft, and mentioned his knowledge of Persian and 
Toorkie, yet he avoided saying anything of his books and papers, which were 
expressly mentioned in yonr letter. I have since heard that there has been some 
difficulty about procuring them, and that they are not yet arrived, which probably 
may account for his silence." 

" Khamu-abad, \3th January,. 1838. 

"You will perceive by the date that I am at the place where your anxieties 
reached their acme, and received their happy termination. I came here four days 
since to give my patient the last chance in the benefit of a purer air than Koon- 
dooz: I am now perfectly convinced that the case is utterly hopeless, and should 
have announced this before but for my fear of compromising Wood, and my 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 65 

anxiety to have him back and ready to start with me, should it be necessary, as 
soon as I have made the communication. I have, however, told my patient that 
I am now trying the last and most powerful remedies, and that, if within forty 
days no effect is produced, it will be in vain to continue them any longer, and he 
must submit to what is written in his destiny. 

" The way is thus paved; and meantime I am looking round for some other 
way of maintaining my footing here, as the road back will not be open for nearly 
four months. 

" And your letter has given me, I think, no bad commencement. On receipt of 
it I rode into Koondooz, and, waiting on the Mir, said I had come, by your orders, 
to offer your best thanks for all his kindness to Wood and myself since we arrived 
in his country, more particularly his having allowed Wood to go to the source of 
the Oxus, a favour which Firingees highly appreciated. This was received most 
graciously; and I then went on to inform him that Candahar had seceded from the 
Persian interest and was now anxious for the friendship of our government, in 
consequence of which a Firingee had been despatched there. In telling him this 
I only told him what common report would have brought to him in half an hour 
afterwards, as the cassid had begun to spread it everywhere. This intelligence 
proved as highly satisfactory as I had anticipated, for the Persians are equally 
hated and feared here; it also produced divers exclamations of astonishment — 
' What wonderful men these Firingees are! Three months ago four of them came 
into the country; now one is at Cabool, one at Candahar, one here, and one at 
the source of the Oxus. Wullah! billah! they neither eat, drink, nor sleep: all 
day they make syl [enjoy themselves], and all night they write books!' When 
these exclamations were over I inquired what news he might have from the seat 
of war; ' Hech,' (nothing,) he said; 'people will talk' (gup me zunund), 'but the 
news of one day is the lie of the next: however,' said he, ' I wish very much I 
had some sure information what these Kuzzilbash dogs are about, as some people 
say they are coming this way.' This was the very point I wanted to bring him 
to, as I was myself just at the same loss for information to send you: so I said at 
once, ' What difficulty can there be about this? If it is your pleasure, I will send 
off a man who will go to Mei-muna, and, please God, even to the Persian camp, 
and will tell us all that is going on.' ' By all means,' said his highness, who, 
much as he wanted information, seems never to have thought of this simple way 
of getting it — 'by all means, send three, four, six men: let us have good pookhtee 
(information) every day, and when it comes let me know of it.' ' Bu chusm,' (on 
my eyes,) said I; and, fortified with this permission, I have started off Rujab 
Khan this mcning, who is to go first to Balkh, where he is acquainted with some 
few families who have connections in Herat, and will probably have good infor- 
mation. He is then to go on through Akchu, Siripul, and Shibbetghan to Mei- 
muna, getting the statistics of these little independent states on his way. From 
Mei-muna he is to send me another cassid, and also either to go himself or pro- 
cure some one to go and reconnoitre the Persian camp. He is also, on leaving 
it, to engage some of his friends there to write him occasionally, should there be 
anything new: so that I hope by this arrangement to get you not only present 
information, but a continuance of it while the war is in that quarter, and that with- 
out committing either you or myself. 

" During the whole interview Moorad Beg was, I think, in better humour than 
I have seen him before, though he has always been gracious; and I afterwards 
heard from Atma that he was much pleased at the idea of my coming in from 
Khanuabad to make ' salaam,' as attending his durbar is called here. 

" Before taking my leave I represented that, as Talikan was but a short distance 
from Khanuabad, I meant, with his permission, to go down there for one night, 
in order to make my salaam to the holy man there. ' Why not?' said he. ' Go 
everywhere, and see what you like.' I here terminated our interview, with 
which I am the more satisfied as some unpleasant rumours had reached me re- 



66 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

specting his dissatisfaction at my not having done his brother any benefit; and it 
was in some measure to test their accuracy that I made the visit, and to his inqui- 
ries after his brother's eyes answered distinctly that I saw no improvement. I 
therefore entertain hopes that, even after I have announced the melancholy truth, 
I may not find my situation here wholly untenable; and may even get permission 
to ramble along the banks of the Oxus, the fords of which I wish to examine, as 
Wood seems to have turned his back upon them. 

"Yesterday was altogether, as Dominie Sampson would say, 'a white day;' 
for, on returning here in the evening after this successful interview, I was saluted 
by a man who turned out to be a messenger bearing a letter from the ' holy man 
of Talikan,' every word of which was a full-blown rose in the garden of friend- 
ship. Of course I 'khoosh amudeid' the worthy gentleman; told him of the 
leave I had that day received to pay my respects to his master, who, I said, was 
well known through all Firingistan as the friend of our nation; tied a turban 
round his head; and sent him back with a letter containing as many peonies as 
his master's had roses, and announcing my intention of making my salaam within 
a few days at furthest. I look on this man as no bad peg to hold by in case of 
accidents, and have prepared a grand posteen (fur pelisse) to invest him with on 
occasion of my visit." 

"Koondo <z, 30th January, 1838. 

" You will be prepared to hear that I have given up my patient's case as hope- 
less; but the resignation with which this destruction of all his hopes of regaining 
his sight has been borne, both by himself and Mir Moorad Beg, is far greater 
than either you or I could have anticipated, and in fact is such as to do high 
honour to the Uzbek character. I had from the first declared the case to be one 
of extreme difficulty; and, latterly, told him that one after another of my reme- 
dies had proved ineffectual, and that the slight hope I originally might have had 
was daily becoming less. My final announcement he anticipated by sending me 
a message on the evening of the 17th to this effect: — ' He felt it was written in 
his destiny that he was not to recover his sight: he was satisfied I had done 
everything possible, but that he was now resigned to the will of God, and con- 
tent to go back to his own house convinced that a cure was not to be expected.' 
These were so nearly my own sentiments on the matter that I did not offer much 
opposition. I said, ' If he wished for my advice it was this — that he should 
persist in the use of the remedies twenty days longer, within which time, if there 
was no amendment, I was hopeless; but that if he was determined on going now 
I had little to say against it, as my hopes of ultimate improvement were now very 
slight.' I added, ' It would be well he should think it over for the night, and that 
in the morning I would call and hear his decision.' With these words I dismissed 
the mission, which consisted of Mousa Yessawul, the governor of Khanuabad, 
at which place we then were, Zohrab Khan, the governor of Inderab, and a 
Mirza. 

" About 8 p.m., having heard that the Mir had finally determined no longer to 
struggle against his fate, I went over to take leave of him and offer such consola- 
tions as might occur to me. He expressed himself in every way satisfied with 
the exertions I had made, said he was under obligations which he never should 
forget; and begged I would continue his guest as long as it suited me to remain 
in the country, every part of which I was at liberty to visit. He added numerous 
other expressions of kindly feeling, and explained that he had given orders to 
Mousa Yessawul that all my wishes were to be attended to. He then reverted 
to his own melancholy condition, and, losing all composure, burst into tears, ac- 
cusing himself loudly of the many crimes he had committed, and acknowledging 
the hand of God in the judgment which had now overtaken him. The scene 
was a strange mixture of the pathetic and the ludicrous. I could not help sym- 
pathising sincerely with the poor old man and his son, a fine lad of fifteen, who 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 67 

shared deeply in his father's grief; but then every broad-faced Uzbek about the 
room, seeing his chief in tears, thought it incumbent on him to blubber a little 
also, and the wry faces some of them made in attempting to look melancholy 
were perfectly irresistible. 

" I was obliged to bury my face in my sleeves, and hope I too got credit for 
crying a little. After the first burst of grief was over, I took on me the office of 
comforter. I said ' He had undoubtedly committed crimes, as all men had, but 
then lie had also done much that was good: he had cherished the ryot, distributed 
justice, and I had with my own eyes seen that the people who lived under him 
were contented and happy.' I added that God had taken away one blessing, but 
had given him many — lands, houses, children, wealth, and power; that it became 
him to look on these, not on what was taken away, and to be thankful. I further 
advised him to have the Koran constantly read to him, and to reflect on the insta- 
bility of this world; and having so said I got up and went away. 

" Next morning the old man returned to Koondooz, and I, wishing to commence 
my new game by leading off a trump card, started to pay my long-promised visit 
to Moorcroft's Syud. 

" The village of the Holy Man is about six miles on the other side of Talikan, 
in all thirty miles from Khanuabad. I reached it about four in the afternoon, 
and on dismounting was conducted to a small, neatly-carpeted apartment, where I 
was told to expect a visit from the Syud as soon as he should have finished his 
afternoon devotions. In about half an hour he came. I stooped to kiss his hand 
in acknowledgment of his sanctity, when he gently raised and embraced me: I then 
endeavoured to express to him the obligation which I, in common with all Firin- 
gees, felt to him for the service he had rendered our ill-fated countryman, Moor- 
croft, and added that it was a favour which none of us should forget. I explained 
to him that this was the very first day I had been disengaged since my arrival in 
Moorad Beg's territories, and that I had impatiently awaited the opportunity it 
afforded me of expressing to him these the common sentiments of my nation. 
He appeared gratified, but modestly disclaimed any merit, saying it was not in 
his power to do much for Moorcroft. He added that it astonished him not a little 
to find that so trifling an action as it had appeared to him at the time should have 
reached a country so remote and so great as ours. After a little further conversa- 
tion, in which I said I had been charged to add your acknowledgments to my 
own, he retired, and soon after slaves made their appearance, leaving trays of 
pilaos and sweetmeats, to which my long ride induced me to do ample justice. 

" After dinner he again came, and sat with me nearly an hour. The conver- 
sation ran chiefly on European politics, and commerce, as connected with India 
and Persia. Knowing his influence over the mind of Moorad Beg, I took occa- 
sion to explain to him the objects of your mission, and more particularly the 
intention of our government to establish a great annual fair on the banks of the 
Indus, and showed the benefits which must arise from this to the Mir, whose 
country would necessarily be the grand line of communication between Hindostan 
and Toorkistan. He seemed perfectly to comprehend all my sentiments, and 
made several inquiries that evinced his intelligence. He then inquired what I 
meantto do with myself until the road back should be open. (I had informed him 
that I had relinquished Mahomed Beg's case as hopeless.) I replied, that if the 
Mir would permit me, I wished to travel a little about his country, as it was the 
custom of Firingees to observe everything that came in their way. He said he 
had heard this from Moorcroft, and thought I should find no difficulty here. Be- 
fore I went away he again expressed his astonishment at our being acquainted 
with what he had done for Moorcroft. ' Is it really a fact,' said he, ' that thiais 
known in Firingistan?' ' Wullah, billah,' said I; ' the very children repeat the 
name of Syud Mahomed Kasim, the friend of the Firingees.' He did not attempt 
to conceal his satisfaction. ' God is great!' said he; ' feel my pulse.' ' Praise 
be to God,' said I, 'what strength and firmness! If it please God, one half your 



68 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

life is not yet passed.' We stroked our beards, said a ' fatha,' or blessing, and 
the old man departed. I saw him again in the morning, when 1 was about to 
return: he had been praying from cock-crow until past nine o'clock He stopped 
for a few moments as he passed my door, said a few words of inquiry, asked for 
some medicine for his eyes, and, having ordered breakfast to be brought me, took 
his leave. 

" On proceeding to mount I found a handsome young horse, which he had or- 
dered to be presented to me in return for some articles I had given him. A man 
also was in readiness to show me the salt-mines, which I had expressed a wish 
to see. 

" Having visited them, I thought it well to make my salaam to the heir-appa- 
rent, Atalik Beg, as I was in his vicinity. He received me in the same distin- 
guished manner his father had done — standing outside his own door, with all his 
court drawn up around him — planed me in the highest seat, and at my departure 
presented me with a horse and a dress of honour. The two first tiieks being thus 
clearly won, I thought it proper to lose no time in going to Koondooz, to ascertain 
my fate there. 

"The day after my arrival (22d January) I had visits from Atma and Mirza 
Buddeea, who both assured me that the Mir's friendly disposition towards me 
was not in the least altered by the result of his brother's case, which, he said, 
was his destiny. Atma further added that Mahomed Beg, my patient, in passing 
through, had spoken of me in the highest terms, as not only possessing profes- 
sional skill, but as ' being perfectly acquainted with good manners,' and as having 
paid him every possible attention. This is all as it should be." 

* * 5jf * * * 

In the middle of April Dr. Lord and Lieutenant Wood set out from Koondooz, 
on their return to Cabool; and previous to their departure the books of Moorcroft, 
with a few of his papers, were made over to them: with these poor Lord sent to 
me the following interesting memorandum: — 

"I have to present to you a. list of books and papers belonging to the late Mr. 
Moorcroft, which"! have been so fortunate as to recover during my recent journey 
to Toorkistan. 

" For the greater part of them I am indebted to Mir Mahommed Moorad Beg, 
who, immediately on my arrival at Koondooz. wrote to the Khan of Muzar, de- 
siring that all such relics of the European traveller should forthwith be sent. In 
reply to this, fifty volumes, all of printed works, were immediately forwarded; 
the remainder, including the map, Mr. Moorcroft's passport in English and Per- 
sian from the Marquis of Hastings, and a MS. volume, with several loose MS. 
sheets, chiefly of accounts, I was enabled to recover when, by the Mir's permis- 
sion, I myself made a visit to Khooloom and Muzar. 

"I think the evidence I have received proves, as strongly as the nature of ne- 
gative evidence will admit, that no MS. papers of any value belonging to that 
ill-fated expedition remain to be recovered. 

" I paid every person who brought books; and always explained that I would 
give double reward for anything that was written; and though in consequence of 
this several sheets of MS. were brought me, they never appeared, on examination, 
to contain anything beyond accounts and such routine matters. Now, as the 
natives must be unable to make the distinction, the chances evidently are, that, if 
any papers of importance existed, one or two of them at least would have found 
their way to me amongst the number presented. 

" I append a letter from Mirza Humeedoodeen, the principal secretary to the 
Khan ofMuzar, and a man who attended Mr. Trebeck in his last moments, say- 
ing that two printed and one MS. volumes are in existence at Shehr Subz, and 
that he had sent a man to recover them for me. As I have since been obliged to 
leave the country, and as all communication is, by the present state of affairs at 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 69 

Cabool, rendered impossible, I mention this fact as well worthy the attention of 
some future traveller. 

" The map is in itself a document of much interest, as containing Mr. Moor- 
croft's route, traced evidently with his own hand, and continued as far as Akcha, 
within one stage of Andkhoee, where he is known to have fallen a victim, not 
more I believe to the baneful effects of the climate than to the web of treachery 
and intrigue by which he found himself surrounded and his return cut off. On 
the back of the map is a MS. sketch of the route through Andkhoee to Mei-muna, 
and back through Sireepool to Balkh, as though he had planned a tour though 
these little independent states, partly perhaps to see the horses for which they are 
famed, and partly to while away the uneasiness of expectation till a safe-conduct 
should be granted him through the territories of the ruler of Koondooz. We can 
thus almost trace the last_ object that engaged his mind, and in the prosecution of 
which he laid down his life. 

" Connected with this I beg to subjoin a slip of paper which I found amongst 
a pile of loose accounts, and which bears, in Mr. Trebeck's writing, the following 
entry, date September 6th, 1825: — 

" ' Arrived at Balkh, August 25th. Mr. M. died August 27th.' 

"This places the date of Mr. Moorcroft's death beyond a doubt; and also, I 
think, affords negative evidence against the supposition of its having been caused 
by any unfair means. 

" But the same paper is further interesting from an accidental coincidence. 
The Mirza, I have before mentioned, accompanied me from Tash Koorghan to 
Muzar, and in the course of conversation, which naturally turned in a great mea- 
sure on the melancholy fate of Moorcroft's party, he said that, about a month 
before the death of Trebeck, he had one day gone to him, by desire of the Khan, 
to purchase some pearls which he heard he had. Trebeck produced the pearls; 
but, when questioned about the price, said, in a desponding tone, 'Take them 
for what you please; my heart is broken: what care I for price now?' The entry 
is this: — 

Total on the strings .... 280 grs. 

Oct. 15th. Taken by Mirza . . . 131 grs. or 4 miskate. 
" 16th. Taken by Dewan Beghee . 33 grs. or 1 miskal. 

" It will be observed no price is affixed: probably none was received. A stran- 
ger in a foreign land, far from the soothing voice of his countrymen or kinsfolk, 
surrounded by rude hordes, who looked on him as the only obstacle to possessing 
themselves of the countless treasures which they believed to be in his charge, his 
youthful spirit pined and sunk. The bright visions with which he had com- 
menced his career had long since vanished; where he had looked for pleasures he 
had found toils; where for rest he had to guard against dangers; sickness had car- 
ried off many of the companions with whom he had set out; and when at last it 
.struck his guide, his own familiar friend, to whom he looked for support under 
every adversity, and for rescue from every difficulty, and when in addition he 
found that all hopes of return to his native land seemed, if not cut off, at least 
indefinitely deferred, — his heart, as he too truly says, was broken, and in a few 
short weeks he sunk into an untimely grave. I should apologise for a digression 
unsuited, I confess, to the character of an official paper, but it is impossible to 
hear the warm terms in which poor Trebeck is still mentioned by the rude na- 
tives among whom he died, without feeling the deepest sympathy in the fate of 
one who fell 

'So young, and yet so full of promise.' 

" It is only necessary I should add one or two more observations. The ac- 
count-book, which I now forward, is a valuable document in more respects than 
one. It contains an accurate list of the stock originally purchased by Mr. Moor- 
croft when starting for his journey, and will serve to modify considerably the 



70 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

extravagant ideas that have been entertained of the quantities of goods which he 
carried. Taken in connection with the loose MS. accounts, it will serve also to 
evince that the greater part of this stock was sold off previous to his leaving Bo- 
khara, and, as far as my information goes, I am inclined to believe the proceeds 
were chiefly expended in the purchase of horses, of which I understand he had 
when he died somewhat under a hundred, including specimens of all the best 
Uzbek and Toorkooman breeds. 

" The account-book is further interesting, as containing, in Mr. Moorcroft's 
own handwriting, a list of the articles which he offered on his presentation to the 
King of Bokhara; and a note at the end, to the effect that the King had in return 
ordered him a remission of the duties on his merchandise, rather more than equal- 
ing the estimated value of the goods. It is further satisfactory to be able to add, 
on the authority of several Bokhara merchants who were on terms of intimacy 
with him during his stay in that city, that his character was highly appreciated 
by the King, who frequently sent for him to enjoy the pleasure of his conversa- 
tion, and conferred on him the high privilege, never before granted to a Christian, 
of riding through the city, and even to the gate of the King's palace, on horseback. 

" In addition to the list of his merchandise, this account-book contains also a 
list of his private property, which, it appears, Mr. Moorcroft was obliged by 
order of the Koosh Begee to make out on entering Bokhara. From this list we 
learn he possessed ninety volumes of books. The number I have recovered, and 
which I have now the honour to place at your disposal, is fifty-seven. Amongst 
them are several odd volumes, of which the sets, if complete, would give an addi- 
tion of about thirty — total eighty-seven; so that there are probably not more than 
two or three volumes of which we may not consider ourselves to have ascer- 
tained the fate. As to MSS., I have already shown the high improbability that 
any of consequence have eluded our researches. 

" Scattered through the printed volumes, numerous notes and corrections in 
Mr. Moorcroft's own handwriting will be found. Of these some, referring inci- 
dentally to the dangers of his journey, or laying down plans as to the route by 
which he meant to return, cannot be read without emotion. 

"In conclusion, it is but justice to add that the impression everywhere left by 
this enterprising but ill-fated party has been in a high degree favourable to our 
national character. 

"Translation of a letter from Mirza Humeeoodeen to P. B. Lord, Esq.: — 

" ' A. C. Two books and one MS. are in the city of Shuhr Subz. I have sent 
a person to bring them, and when they reach me I shall send them to you. In 
all things I will never forget your kind offices. Let me always hear of your wel- 
fare. Believe what this man says, and that I am your well-wisher. Dated Mo- 
hurrum, 1254, A. H.' " 

While at Koondooz, Dr. Lord wrote a single sheet on the customs of the 
Uzbeks, which I give entire, as illustrative of their manners: — 

"At weddings, a party of the friends of the bride and bridegroom, provided 
with large quantities of flour mixed with ashes, meet in the open plain, and have 
a grand engagement until one party is obliged to turn and fly. After that, peace 
is made; and they both join at a great entertainment. Sometimes serious conse- 
quences arise if the beaten party get enraged. It is only a few years since the 
Mir's son, Malik Khan, married the daughter of Nuzry Min Bashee, a Kutaghan 
of his own tribe of Kaysumur. On this occasion each party came provided with 
twenty-one jowals of wheat and an equal quantity of ashes, the Mir himself head- 
ing his own party: he was beaten, and pursued about two kos from the field; 
when, suddenly losing his temper, he turned about, and ordered his party to draw 
swords and charge, to the no little dismay, it may be supposed, of the victor. 
Some white-beards, however, interfered, and prevented the effusion of blood. 

"Men here sell their wives, if they get tired of them. This is by no means 
uncommon; but the man is obliged to make the first offer of her to her family, 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 71 

naming the price, which if they do not give, he is at liberty to sell her to any one 
else. On the death of a man his wives all become the property of his next 
brother; who may marry them or sell them, giving the pre-option, as before, to 
their own families. 

"Jandad, a Kaboolee Attari, to whom I spoke of the custom of selling wives, 
which I did not entirely credit, said, 'I'll tell you what happened to myself. I 
was one day returning from Khannabad; and, being overtaken by darkness, 
halted for the night at Turnab, three kos short of this. After feeding my horse 
and going to the house for shelter, I found three men busily engaged; and, 
inquiring the subject of their conversation, was told that one of them was 
selling his wife to the other, but that they had not agreed about terms. Mean- 
time, Khuda Berdi Ming, Bashf and chief of the village, came in, and whispered 
to me that, if I could go halves with him, he would purchase the woman, as he 
had seen her and found her very beautiful. I agreed; upon which we purchased 
her for seventy rupees, thirty-five each, and she went home with me for that 
night. Next morning Khuda Berdi came, and said that partnership in a woman 
was a bad thing, and asked me how I intended to manage. I said she should 
stay with me one month, and then go to him next. To that he would by no 
means agree; because, if sons or daughters were born, there would be disputes to 
know to whom they belonged. " In short," said he, " either do you give me five 
rupees profit on my share, and take her altogether, or I will give you the same 
profit on your share, and she shall be altogether mine." To this latter alternative 
I consented; and she is now living with him, as every one well knows.' 

" A man who has a daughter marriageable must give intimation of it to the Mir, 
who sends his chief eunuch to inspect her: if handsome, he takes her; if not, he 
gives permission that she should marry another. 

" Every man who meets the Mir out riding dismounts as he passes, and gives 
him the ' salam alaikiim.' The rulers of districts, and other employes, are ex- 
pected to come at least four or five times a-year to make their salam. The mode 
is, — on entering the door each shouts out ' Salam alaikiim' as loud as he can; then 
runs forward, falls on his knees, and, taking the Mir's hand between both of his, 
places it to his forehead, or kisses it, I could not clearly see which, and exclaiming 
' Tukseer' (pardon me), retires to the wall, where he stands, and answers any 
questions the Mir may ask about his government; after which he mixes with the 
crowd, or walks out as soon as he pleases. On these occasions an offering is 
brought, — horses, slaves, &c, — which are paraded for the Mir's approval. 

"A child is circumcised at the age of seven or ten years. This is a time of the 
greatest festivity among the Uzbeks; and on such occasions considerable expense 
is incurred, and feasts given which last fifteen or twenty days. The eating is 
truly enormous; but, indeed, to our ideas, it is always so: two Uzbeks not un- 
frequently devouring an entire sheep, with a proportional quantity of rice, bread, 
ghee, &c, between them; and afterwards cramming in water-melons, musk- 
• melons, or other fruit: but these they say go for nothing, being only water. On 
the occasions to which I have referred horse-racing is a favourite amusement, and 
the horses for the purpose are generally trained for a fortnight or three weeks 
preceding; and they require this — for a race here is not a matter of one or two 
mile heats, but a regular continued run for twenty or twenty-five kos (forty or 
fifty miles) across the country, sometimes wading through morasses and swim- 
ming rivers, but more frequently crossing their magnificent extended plains; one 
of which, as level as our best race-courses and with a beautiful green turf covering, 
not unfrequently extends the entire distance to be run. The scene on these oc- 
casions is highly animated, as not only the racers, generally about twenty in num- 
ber, set off, but the whole of the sporting assembly, perhaps 100, or even 500 in 
number, accompany them, at least for the first three or four miles. A judge has 
been sent on in advance, and the competitors seldom return till the next day. The 
prizes are certainly worth some exertion; and in one case, when the donor was a 



72 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

man of good substance, they were as follows: the first, and most classical, was a 
young maiden, generally a Huzarah or Chitrali, both prized for their personal 
attractions; the second, fifty sheep; the third, a boy; the fourth, a horse; the fifth, 
a camel; the sixth, a cow; and the seventh, a water-melon; the winner of which 
becomes an object of ridicule and banter for the rest of the meeting. 

"Another and more amusing kind of race is the following: — One man places a 
goat on the horse before him, and sets off at full gallop; fifteen or twenty others 
immediately start off after him, and whichever of these can seize the goat, and 
get safe off with it beyond the reach of the rest, retains it for his prize. The 
rapidity with which the goat sometimes changes masters is very laughable; but 
the poor animal is occasionally torn to pieces in the scuffle. 

"A third game, called Kubach, requires no little dexterity in the use of fire- 
arms, and, indeed, looking at the wretched matchlocks which they usually carry, 
I doubt whether success in it can ever be more than a matter of chance. A kud- 
doo (a small kind of gourd), hollowed out and filled with flour, is erected on the 
top of a pole two spears high. Those who are to make trial of their skill stand 
in a row, about four hundred yards distant, and each in succession, putting his 
horse to full speed, discharges his matchlock at the object whenever he pleases. 
Most fire when just under it, others on the advance; but the acme of perfection is 
to turn round on your horse and strike it after you have passed. The flour flying 
out at once proclaims success, and the victor at this sport is rewarded with one 
hundred rupees, and a khillat, or dress of honour. The prize is generally given 
by the Mir himself, when he happens to be present on those occasions. 

" On an attentive examination, I fully satisfied myself that anything like deli- 
berate aim was totally out of the question; even the Uzbeks themselves, when 
questioned, admitted that it was all by chance." 

These interesting details were not, however, the full fruit of Dr. Lord's labours 
at Koondooz. He accidentally heard from my old friend Atma Dewan Begee, 
the minister of the chief of Koondooz, that he had in his possession two silver 
plates, or, rather, paterae, which he had procured from the family of the dethroned 
chiefs of Budukhshan, who claim descent from Alexander. My poor friend soon 
made these two treasures his own, and was justly proud of possessing them. One 
of these patera represents the triumphal procession of the Grecian Bacchus, and 
is of exquisite workmanship: the subject of the other is Sapor slaying the Lion. 
It is in the style of the monuments at Persepolis, and is less chaste than its com- 
panion. I have no hesitation in assigning them to the age of Bactria, from their 
appearance and the site in which they were found. 

I received Dr. Lord's permission, very shortly before his death, to present the 
first of these paterae, and some valuable coins, to the Museum at the India House, 
where they now are. The other relic is at present in my own possession. In 
coins also Lord's fortune was singularly great, as he procured, from the same 
quarter, one which is as yet quite unique. It is 'figured on the plate; and with 
the gay words in which the lamented discoverer described his treasure I will con- 
clude this long chapter: — " Pends-toi, brave Crillon; nous avons combattu, et tu 
n'etais pas. I have got such an Eucratides! The great king, Eucratides, with a 
helmeted head on the obverse (God knows, it may be reverse for all I know), and 
on the other side the same king with a more melancholy expression of counte- 
nance, — no doubt of the cause, for this time he is accompanied by his wife, — 
two busts on one side, inscription of Eucratides, the son of Heliocles and Laodice. 
There's something for an article in Prinsep for you." And to the Journal of that 
ever-to-be-lamented individual I must refer for the article which he did send forth 
regarding this rarest of all Bactrian reliques. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 73 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Siah-poosh Kaffirs — Character and customs — Mode of life — Language — Inscriptions at 
Bajour — Idols — Cashgar — Commerce — Climate — Clouds of red dust — The hot sand of Aksoo 
— Khoten — Kokan — Maimanu — Andkho — Shibbergam — Siripool — Akehu — Huzara country — 
Population and descent — Customs — Curious tradition. 

I will now digress for a while, and revert to the information which I gathered 
at Cabool relating to some of the countries north of Hindoo Koosh: it is not, 
however, my intention to carry the reader over any of the ground of which 
Lieutenant Wood has treated. I shall endeavour to bear in mind the true spirit of 
general geography, as defined by the illustrious Rennell, and contemplate not only 
the objects immediately in view, but direct inquiry to all around. To none did [ 
more anxiously turn my attention than to the Siah-poosh Kaffirs, who occupy the 
mountainous regions of Northern Afghanistan, and whose history and condition 
have excited so much interest. In Cabool I met several Kaffirs who had been 
captured at an advanced age, and were still familiar with the language and manners 
of their countrymen. I also saw people, both Hindoo and Mahomedan, who had 
visited the habitations of. the Kaffirs, and I had thus an opportunity of hearing 
what these people thought of themselves, and also how they were viewed by 
foreigners. The account of the Kaffirs given by Mr. Elphinstone renders it un- 
necessary for me to repeat many of the details which I received, and which cor- 
roborated his statements: on these therefore I shall not touch, my object being to 
improve our present knowledge, and clear up, if possible, some of the obscurity 
which still exists. 

In speaking of their nation the Kaffirs designate themselves, as the Mahomedans 
do, Kaffirs, with which name they, of course, do not couple any opprobrious 
meaning, though it implies infidel. They consider themselves descended of one 
Korusbye, and their Mahomedan neighbours either corrupt the word, or assign 
them a lineage from Koreish, one of the noblest of the tribes of Arabia, to the 
language of which eountry they further state that of the Kaffirs to be allied. A 
Kaffir assured me that his tribe looked upon all men as brothers who wore ringlets 
and drank wine.* They have no definite idea of the surrounding countries, Bajour 
and Kooner, to the south, being the limits of their geographical knowledge. They 
have no books, nor is reading or writing known in the nation, so that they have 
no written traditions. Their country has many table-lands, some of which extend 
for fifteen or twenty miles, and on these there are always villages: Wygul and 
Camdeesh are on one of those plateaux, and eastward of the latter lies the country 
of the Mahomedans. The winter is severe, but in summer grapes ripen in great 
abundance. 

The words of a young Kaffir, about eighteen years of age, now in Cabool, will 
afford the best explanation of many of their customs. His name, as a Kaffir, was 
Deenbur, as a Mahomedan it has been changed to Fureedoon. He fell into the 
hands of the Mahomedans eighteen months since, by losing his road when passing 
from his native village of Wygul to Gimeer, to visit a relative. He is a remarkably 
handsome young man, tall, with regular Grecian features, blue eyes, and fair com- 
plexion, and is now a slave of Dost Mahomed Khan. I give an accurate portrait 
of him, and the costume of his country as he described it. Two other Kaffir boys, 
eight and nine years old, who came with him, had ruddy complexions, hazel eyes, 

* Since the British entered Afghanistan one of the Kaffirs, near Jullalabad, sent a 
congratulatory message at the arrival of so many Kaffir brethren as ourselves! 
6 



74 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

and auburn hair. They had high cheek-bones and less regular features, but still 
they were handsome and extremely intelligent. Their Kaffir names were Teeu- 
zeer and Choudur, and that of their mothers Rajmal and Biaspagly. None of 
these three Kaffirs, or two others whom I saw, had any resemblance to the Af- 
ghans or even Cashmerians. They looked a distinct race, as the most superficial 
observer must have remarked on seeing them. 

Deenbur said that there was no chief of the Kaffirs, but that great men were 
called Sabuninash. They do not appear to carry on any combined operations 
against their neighbours, but retaliate upon them when an invasion of their frontier 
takes place: they are very inveterate against the Mahomedans, and give no quarter 
to captives. They possess great ability and activity, qualities which their enemies 
accord to them. Mahomedans seldom venture to enter their country as travellers, 
but Hindoos go as merchants and beggars (fakeers), and are not ill-used. I met a 
Mahomedan who had passed into Budukhshan and was not molested. In killing 
animals for food, the Kaffirs use no ceremonies: they sacrifice cows and goats to 
Doghan, the Supreme Being, particularly at a great festival which occurs in the 
beginning of April, and lasts for ten days. They have idols, and know the Hin- 
doo god, Mahdeo, by name; but they all eat beef, and have either lost their Hindoo 
belief, or never had anything in common with it. They neither burn nor bury 
their dead, but place the body in a box, arrayed in a fine dress, which consists of 
goat-skins or Cashgar woollens: they then remove it to the summit of a hill near 
the village, where it is placed on the ground, but never interred. Kaffir females 
till the land: in eating, the men sit apart from the women. They have no tables: 
the dish containing the meal is placed on a tripod, made of iron rods, of which 
•Deenbur and his companions made a model for me with twigs. They assemble 
Tound this and eat, sitting on stools or chairs without backs. They are very fond 
of honey, wine, and vinegar, all of which they have in abundance. They have no 
domestic fowls; nor is there a horse in their country: wheat and barley are their 
grains: there is no juwaree. They are very fond of music and dancing; but in danc- 
ing, as in eating, the men separate themselves from the women, and the dance of 
the one sex differs from that of the other. Both were exhibited to me: that of the 
men consists of three hops on one foot and then a stamp: the women place their 
hands on their shoulders and leap with both feet, going round in a circle. Their 
musical instruments are one of two strings, and a kind of drum. 

By Deenbur's account, the mode of life among the Kaffirs would appear to be 
social, since they frequently assemble at each other's houses, or under the trees 
which embosom them, and have drinking parties. They drink from silver cups — 
trophies of their spoils in war. The wine, which is both light and dark, will keep 
for years, and is made by expressing the juice of the grape under the feet into a 
large earthen jar, which is described to be of delicate workmanship. Old and 
young of both sexes drink wine, and grape-juice is given fo children at the breast. 
A Kaffir slave-girl, who became a mother shortly after her arrival in Cabool, de- 
manded wine or vinegar on the birth of her child; the latter was given to her: she 
caused five or six walnuts to be burned and put into it, drank it off, and refused 
every other luxury. 

The costume of the nation is better explained by a sketch than it can be by 
description. A successful warrior adds to it a waistband, ornamented with a small 
bell for every Mahomedan he has killed. His daughter has the privilege of wear- 
ing certain ornaments entwined in her hair, made of sea-shells or cowries, which 
no one else can put on without signal punishment. A Hindoo, who was present 
at a Kaffir marriage, informed me that the bridegroom had his food given to him 
behind his back, because he had not killed a Mahomedan. Enmities frequently 
arise arnon? them; but the most deadly feud may be extinguished by one of the 
parties kissing the nipple of his antagonist's left breast, as being typical of drinking 
the milk of friendship. The other party then returns the compliment by kissing 
the suitor on the head, when they become friends till death. The Kaffirs do not 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 7-5 

sell their children to Mahomedans, though a man in distress may sometimes dis- 
pose of his servant, or steal a neighbour's child and sell it. 

I asked my eldest Kaffir informant if he regretted the loss of his country? and he 
at once replied that there Kaffir customs were best, but here he preferred those of 
Mahomed. He had, however, imbibed a taste for Islam; and observed, that here 
there was religion, and in his country none. He told me a singular fact of a Kaffir 
relative of his own, named Shubood, who had been captured, and, becoming a 
Moollah, travelled, under the name of Korosh, into India, returned about three 
years ago into Kaffiristan, when he made known many things to the Kaffirs which 
they never before heard. After a short stay he wished to quit the country, but he 
was not permitted. The names of the places which Deenbur remembered were 
Wygul, Gimeer, Cheemee, Kaygul, Minchgul, Ameeshdesh Jamuj, Nishaigram 
Richgul, Deree, Kuttar, Camdesh, Donggul Pendesh, Villegul, and Savendesh. It 
is, however, believed that all the inhabitants of Dura i Noor, and other defiles of 
Hindoo Koosh, north of Cabool and Jullalabad, are converted Kaffirs, which their 
appearance and language seem to bear out. 

The language of the Kaffirs is altogether unintelligible to Hindoos, as well as to 
their Uzbek and Afghan neighbours. Some of its sounds — soft labials — are scarcely 
to be pronounced by an European. They are set down as spoken by Deenbur. 
The short sentences which follow the vocabulary bear, however, an evident affinity 
to the languages of the Hindoo stock. As the Kaffirs have no written characters, 
I give them in an English dress. When in the Kohistan of Cabool, near Punj- 
sheer, I had an opportunity of meeting some of the people who speak Pushye, 
which resembles the dialect of the Kaffirs, as may be supposed from their prox- 
imity to them; and,- as will be seen in the vocabulary, Pushye is spoken in eight 
villages named as follows: 1. Eshpein; 2. Eshkein; 3. Soudur; 4. Alisye; 5. 
Ghyn; 6. Doornama; 7. Doora i Pootta; and 8. Mulaikir; — all of which are 
situated among or near the seven valleys of Nijrovv. The Pnshyes are considered 
a kind of Tajiks by the Afghans. 

I have stated the account which the Kaffirs give of themselves: I received the 
following additional particulars from a Mahomedan who had visited four villages, 
named Kutar, Gimeer, Deeos, and Sao, allof which are beyond the frontier hamlet of 
Kmanool, which is inhabited by Neemches Mussulmans, and lies north of Jallalabad. 
He described the Kaffirs as a merry race, without care; and hoped he would not be 
considered disrespectful when he stated that he had never seen people more resem- 
bling Europeans in their intelligence, habits, and appearance, as well as in their gay 
and familiar tone over their wine. They have all tight clothes, sit on leathern stools, 
and are exceedingly hospitable. They always give wine to a stranger; and it is 
often put in pitchers, like water, at public places, which any one may drink. To 
ensure a supply of it, they have very strict regulations to prevent the grapes being 
cut before a certain day. My informant considered the country of the Kaffirs quite 
open to a traveller if he got a Kaffir to be his security. They have no ferocity of 
disposition, however barbarous some of their customs may appear; and, besides the 
mode of ensuring forgiveness already described, he stated that, if a Kaffir has 
killed ten men of the tribe, he can appease the anger of his enemies by throwing 
down his knife before them, trampling on it, and kneeling. 

Besides my Mahomedan informant, I met a Hindoo at Peshawur who had pene- 
trated into that part of the Kaffir country which is -about twenty-five miles beyond 
Chughansuraee, where he resided for eleven days. Some of his observations are 
curious. He was protected by a Kaffir, and experienced no difficulties; but he 
would not have been permitted to go among the more distant Kaffirs: had he 
attempted to do so, he would either have been killed or compelled to marry and 
live permanently among them. He was not however convinced of the impracti- 
cability of the journey, being kindly treated as far as he went, and admitted to their 
houses. He saw their dancing, and describes them as being a race of exquisite 



76 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

beauty, with arched eyebrows and fine complexions. These Kaffirs allow a lock 
of hair to grow on the right side of their head; and the Hindoo declared that they 
were of his own creed, as they knew Seva. They had bows and arrows fur 
defence: they pulled the string of the bow with their toes, and their arrows had 
heads like drooping lilies. Their country had many flowers, and much shade: 
numerous coins are found in it, resembling those to be procured about Bajour, and 
some of which have Grecian inscriptions. The worthy Hindoo insisted upon its 
being a fact that the Kaffirs sold their daughters to Mahomedans according to their 
size, twenty rupees per span being considered a fair valuation! There is certainly 
no difficulty in procuring Kaffir slaves; and the high prices which are readily 
given for them may have induced these poor people, who closely adjoin the 
Mahomedan countries, to enter upon this unnatural traffic. 

But by far the most singular of all the visitors to the Kaffir country of whom I 
have heard was an individual who went into it from Cabool about the year 1829. 
He arrived from Candahar, and gave himself out to be a Gubr, or fire-worshipper, 
and an Ibraheemee, or follower of Abraham, from Persia, who had come to examine 
the Kaffir country, where he expected to find traces of his ancestors. He asso- 
ciated, whilst in Cabool, with the Armenians, and called himself Shuhryar, which 
is a name current among the Parsees of these days. His host used every argu- 
ment to dissuade him from going on such a dangerous journey, but in vain; and 
he proceeded to Jullalabad and Lughman, where he left his property, and 
entered the Kaffir country as a mendicant, by way of Nujjeel, and was absent for 
some months. On his return, after quitting Kaffiristan, he was barbarously 
murdered by the neighbouring Huzaras of the Ali Purust tribe, whose malik, 
Oosman, was so incensed at his countrymen's conduct, that he exacted a fine of 
2000 rupees as the price of his blood. All these facts were communicated to me 
by the Armenians in Cabool; but whether poor Shuhryar was a Bombay Parsee 
or a Persian Gubr I could not discover, though I am disposed to believe him to 
have been the latter, as he carried along with him a " rukum," or document from 
the Shah of Persia. The death of this successful sojourner among the Kaffir tribes 
is a subject of deep regret; but it holds out a hope that some one may follow the 
adventurous example of the disciple of Zoroaster, and yet visit the Kaffirs in their 
native glens. I know not what could have given rise to an identification of the 
Kaffir race with that of ancient Persia, unless it be the mode of disposing of their 
dead on hills without interment: but there are certainly traditions all over Afghan- 
istan regarding the Gubrs, or fire-worshippers; and one of their principal cities, 
called Gurdez, in Zoormut, south of Cabool, yet exists, and even in Baber's time 
was a place of considerable strength. 

The country of the Kaffirs and the districts which adjoin it have also been en- 
tered and passed through by many wandering jewellers. One of these individuals 
had visited Cashgar, beyond Deer; and proceeded thence to the town of Shah Kut- 
tore, under Chitral, and on to Budukhshan, habited as a fakeer, or devotee. He 
always received bread when he asked for it, but could not with safety have made 
himself known. The account of this man's journey, and of what he saw during 
it, is curious. Near a "zyarut," or place of pilgrimage, at Bajour, there is an in- 
scription: I take it to be old Sanscrit. About two miles beyond that place is an- 
other inscription; and between the village of Deer and Arab Khan, towards Cashgar, 
there is a third, at a point where the road is cut through the hdl for some yards: it 
commemorates the fame of the engineer. Koteegiram is an ancient place, a day's 
march from Deer, and two days' journey from Bajour. There is a small idol cut 
in black stone, and attached to the rock: it is in a sitting posture, about two feet and 
a half high, and is said to have a helmet on its head, similar to what is seen on the 
coins from Bajour. It may be a Hindoo figure, for the tribe holds it sacred: but 
idols are frequently dug up in. all parts of this country; and a small one, eight or 
nine inches high, cut in stone, was brought to me from Swat, which represented a 
pot-bellied figure, half seated, with crossed arms, and a hand placed on its head. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 77 

Such idols are also found at a " tope" in the plain of Peshawur; and whether they 
represent Bacchus, or some less celebrated hero, antiquarians must determine. But 
to continue the jeweller's rambles. At Cashgar he purchased rock crystal (beloor) 
from the shepherds, who, in their simplicity, believe it to be the frozen ice of a 
hundred years! In situ a maund of it costs twenty rupees; and he doubled his 
outlay on returning by making it into seals and armlets. It is exported to China, 
as buttons for the caps of the Mandarins. From Cashgar he proceeded onwards to 
Budukhshan, for lapis-lazuli and rubies: on his route, after leaving Cashgar, he 
crossed the river that passes Chitral, here called Kooner. In three days he came 
to a hill called "Koh-i-Noogsan," or the hill of injury, down which he slid upon 
the frozen snow, on a leathern shirt, and came to a bridge, which however was not 
on the high road. 

I was so much pleased with the account of this new and interesting journey, that 
I prevailed on the man to make a second, and to attend to such instructions as I 
shotdd give him regarding copies of the inscriptions. One which he brought from 
Swat, consists of only one line, and is in Pali. The inscriptions, however, of 
Kupoordeeguree, north of Peshawur, which he also brought, were by far the most 
valuable: they consisted of five lines; and I should have given a drawing of them 
had not Mr. Masson subsequently visited that place, cleared away much that hid 
the stone, and taken a perfect copy of a very extensive inscription which he wilt 
doubtless give to the public. 

From these quarters, so full of interest, let me carry the reader beyond the 
mountains, and record a few particulars which were related to me regarding the 
more remote countries of Cashgar, &c, subject to the Chinese. The town of 
Cashgar is held by a detachment of Chinese, but the duties leviable at it are re- 
ceived by the Khan of Kokan, who has his Mahomedan officers stationed there. 
This arrangement has resulted from the late differences between the states; and it 
is not unlike the usage of the British in India towards their frontier states. The 
garrison occupies a separate fort, called by the Mahomedans Gool-Bagh, which I 
understand is a general name for forts similarly occupied. All traffic is carried on 
inside the Gool-Bagh, none being allowed outside; and each person on entering 
receives a small piece of wood, which is tied to his waist, and must be returned 
on coming out. If it is found in the evening that the number of sticks issued does 
not tally with those received back, the strictest search is instituted. All the houses 
have bells at their doors, which are rung by a customer before he can get in. The 
strength of the garrison is about 3000 Chinese, not Toonganees, as I have else- 
where erroneously called the soldiers, whereas such is only the designation of the 
people of the country, who are Soonees. They live in great fear of their Maho- 
medan neighbours, although ambassadors have been sent from and to Bokhara and 
Pekin. There seems, however, to be more communication between Russia and 
these countries than is generally imagined. Native Russians and Armenians pass 
through Cashgar to Tibet, and even lower down; but the Chinese arrest the pro- 
■ gress of all eastward of Yarkund. Opium finds its way by this route to the centre 
of the empire, and the trade in it increases annually. It is sent in sticks, and 
brought, I imagine, from Turkey, through a line of communication that may be 
improved upon. While such jealousy of others exists, the greatest encouragement 
is held out to trade in all its branches; and even if a Mahomedan debtor, fleeing 
from his creditors, takes refuge with nthe Chinese, he is at once given up, on ap- 
plication to the authorities. The mode of punishing their own culprits is by 
placing a wooden collar round the neck of the offender, and labelling upon it his 
crime, and the period for which he is sentenced to wear it. The Chinese neither 
speak Persian nor Toorkee, and intercourse is carried on by means of interpreters. 
All dealings in money are made in yamoos or ingots of silver; but a copper coin 
is current, with a Chinese stamp on one side and a Mahomedan one on the other. 
The people of Cashgar itself are composed of Turks and Uzbeks, and visitors 
also arrive from Tibet and Cashmeer. A Mahomedan acquaintance of mine, who 



78 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

had visited Cashgar, divided its people into three races. First: those who burn 
their dead; second, those who bury them; and third, those who put their dead in 
coffins and send them inland: but I imagine the good traveller's distinctions were 
somewhat fanciful. The climate is described as very dry: rain seldom falls. A 
phenomenon regarding the harvest, if correctly reported, is singular. Its pro- 
ductiveness, it is said, depends upon the clouds of red dust which always fall or 
are blown in this part of Asia. The soil is saline, and is said to be benefited by 
this admixture of foreign earth. The clouds of dust in Toorkistan are tremendous, 
but I had not heard of their existing to such an extent as here described, and the 
statement requires confirmation. Another object of curiosity in these parts is the 
hot sand, about ten miles from Aksoo, on which food can be cooked. I imagine 
it is the result of some subterraneous heat, such as at Bakou on the Caspian, and 
other places. 

I could gather few particulars of the country of Khoten, lying to the eastward 
of Cashgar; but I have little reliance on the reports, lately brought from that 
quarter, of the existence of a Parsee race, flourishing under all the institutions of 
Zoroaster. I have already given an instance of the rambling propensities of these 
people, and their hopes of finding traces of their kinsmen among the Kaffirs; but 
I fear the Parsee community of India must seek for their progenitors elsewhere 
than in Khoten. 

As I have hitherto spoken but briefly of Kokan, the country lying to the west 
of Cashgar, I will now mention a few particulars regarding it. The power of its 
chief or khan, Mohamed Ali, is on the ascendant, as he has established his influ- 
ence over Tashkend, the town of Toorkistan, and all the cultivated country north 
of Kokan, and over many of the Kuzzak tribes between him and Russia. To the 
south, the small district of Durwaz is disputed by the Khan and the Mir of Koon- 
dooz. There is not much intercourse, with Bokhara, but the communication 
between Kokan and Constantinople is more regular than that of the other states of 
Toorkistan. The political connection with China leads to an interchange of pre- 
sents: the Chinese have hitherto sent more valuable gifts than they have received, 
and all the articles are given in sets of nine, a favourite number among this peo- 
ple. The government is well spoken of, though the Khan, like his brother of 
Bokhara, is dissipated. A colony of Jews has lately settled in the country, at the 
towns of Namghan and Marghilan: they pay a poll-tax as Hindoos, and are chiefly 
engaged in dyeing. Kokan itself, though not nearly so populous as Bokhara, is 
said to occupy as much ground, its gardens being extensive. Several new bazars 
and mosques have of late been built, and the town itself lies on both sides of the 
river Sir, which is fordable above Namghan. There is a very ancient city to the 
north of it, two days' journey distant, called Choost, which enjoys a fine climate, 
and from which many antiquities are brought. Kokan is celebrated in Central 
Asia for three things- — a kind of ruby, which was discovered some sixteen or 
seventeen years ago, but is inferior to that of Budukhshan — the " sung-i-shuftaloo," 
or plum-stone, so called from resembling that fruit in shape, though its colour is 
"white — and a kind of verdigris: coal also exists in its eastern districts. The 
country between Kokan and Cashgar is very elevated, and has pine-trees. The 
road leads by the Osh-i-Sooleeman or Solomon's throne, and the journey is one of 
twelve days. 

Changing the sceue of my inquiries, I shall now describe those small states 
north of Hindoo Koosh, and beyond Balkh, on which our information is defective. 
These are Maimanu, Andkho, Shibbergam, Siripool, and Akhchu, which are all 
noted for little but internal quarrels, and being active agents in the slave-trade. 
They are situated in a plain country, well watered by rills or canals, and having 
abundance of forage. Near the towns are many gardens: the houses are all of the 
bee-hive shape. Maimanu is the most important of the whole: the chief is Mizrab 
Khan, an Uzbek of the tribe of Wun, and his country extends from Maimanu to 
the Moorghab, and adjoins that of Shere Mahomed Khan Huzara. Maimanu 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 79 

itself is an open town, or rather village, of about 1500 houses; but the strength of 
the chief consists of his "ils," or moving population, who frequent Umar, Tan- 
kira, Sorbagh, Kaffir Khijrabad, Kusur, Chuchakkoo, Tukht-i-Khatoon, and other 
sites which can scarcaly be called villages. He also numbers Arabs amono- his 
subjects, many of that tribe having been long settled there. With his whole ad- 
herents drawn out he could muster about 6000 horse and three small guns, but he 
could never quit his territories with half the number, as he is on bad terms with 
the chief of Siripool, who is much feared, though less powerful. Mizrab Khan is 
about forty years of age: he succeeded his brother six years ago, whom he poisoned 
— a common mode of disposing of people in these countries, and a fate which his 
own father also met. 

Andkho, or Andkhoee, is ruled by Shah Wulee Khan, an Ufshur Toork, who 
settled here with others of his tribe in the time of Nadir: they were then Shiahs, 
but are now Soonees. The "ils" of the chief, besides his own race, are Arabs, 
and he can furnish 500 horse, and is on good terms with Maimanu. Andkho has 
a larger fixed population than Maimanu, being on one of the high roads to Bok- 
hara, but there is a scarcity of water in this district. It is here that the wheat is a 
triennial plant. Andkho is the place were poor Moorcroft perished. Shibbergam 
belongs to an Uzbek chief named Roostum, who has a character for moderation: 
he can muster 500 or 600 horse, and is on good terms with both Maimanu and 
Koondooz. Shibbergam is considered to be a very ancient place, being supposed 
to date from the days of the Kaffirs (Greeks), and is still the strongest fort in these 
parts. The ark or citadel is built of brick and mortar, and surrounded by other 
walls of mud. Killich Ali Beg, the late chief of Balkh, besieged it for seven years 
without success; but it must be understood that it is only strong against Uzbeks, 
who are badly supplied with artillery. Water is conducted to it from the rivulet 
of Siripool. 

Troolfkar Shere, an Uzbek of the tribe of Achumuillee, governs Siripool, and 
is known as a brave and determined man. He is on bad terms both with Koon- 
dooz and Maimanu; and though he has only 1000 horse, he resists the attacks of 
both those chiefs, and plunders in all directions. His feud with Maimanu arose on 
account of his daughter, a wife of the former chief, being seized by Mizrab Khan. 
His " ils" are in Sungcharuk, Paogeen, Goordewan, and Dughdral; and if he can 
enlarge their number, which is not improbable, his power will become formidable. 
Siripool itself is as large as Maimanu. 

Akhchu is a dependency of Balkh, and held by a son of Eshan Khoja, the go- 
vernor of that once vast city: it is consequently tributary to Bokhara. The gover- 
nor of Balkh, through fear, lately permitted Moorad Beg of Koondooz to establish 
himself on one of the canals of Balkh; but the king of Bokhara sent a force of 8000 
men and dislodged him. Half of this body was raised in Balkh, and the rest from 
Bokhara. The Koondooz chief offered no resistance to the king. 

South of these districts, and between Cabool and Herat, lies the hilly country of 
the Huzaras, or, as it is called, the Huzarajat. An obscurity* hangs over the set- 
tlement of this race among the Afghans; and, without hoping to clear it up, I will 
place before the reader my notes regarding them. 

The Huzaras are distributed as in the following pages, giving the population in 
round numbers: — 



Dehzungee. 

Buchu Ghoolam 3000 

Yanghoor 4000 

Tukuna 1500 



No. of 
Families. 



8,500 



* After all, as the Huzaras are of the Mongolian race, and adjoin the Uzbeks, their 
location in their present site is not very extraordinary: their language, which is Persian, 
is a more remarkable feature in their history. 



80 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

No. of 
Families. 

Brought forward 8,500 

Sepa . . . . ' . 4,000 

Dih Koondee. 

Doulut Beg 5000 

Roushun Beg 2500 

Hyder Beg 1500 

Chaoosh 1000 

Burat 500 

10,500 

Dih Choupan, or Zurdaloo, near Kara Bagh. 

Bobuk 1000 

Bihbood 1000 

Aldye 500 

Chardustu 1000 

— — 3,500 

Tatar and Hubush . 1,500 

Fouladee, Do . . . . ' . . 1,000 

Kaloo 750 

Toorkmun and Parsa, behind tbe Pughman Range . . . . 750 

Shaikh Ali of Ghorbund, half Soonees, half Shiahs . ' . . . 5,000 

Bulkiiaree, near Ghuzni. 

Allahodeen 750 

Islam . 500 

Eeshukee 500 

Kimloot 500 

Shukhu 250 

2,500 

Jaghoree. 

Boobuk 5000 

Culendur 4000 

9,000 

Malistan 2500 

Hoojuristan 2500 

Zoulee ........... 1000 

6,000 

Chukmuk of Gizon, near Candahar . . - 1,200 

Paruka 1,200 

Beshood south of Bameean. 

Kulsitan . . ' . > 2000 

Sugpa and Doulutpa 1000 

Durweish Ali 2000 

Junglye 2000 

Bool Hussum 1500 

Boorjugye .......... 1000 

Dihkan 1000 

Dih Murdagan . . . . . . . . . . 1000 

11,500 



Grand Total .... 66,900 



The Huzaras of Dihzungee are nearly independent: those of Dih-Koondee alto-, 
gether so. At Kara Bagh they come down upon the plains beyond Ghuzni, and 
are subject to Cabool, as are those of Jaghooree, Beshood, and Fouladee. The 
Tatar and Hubush Huzaras lie between Bameean and Koondoos. All these are 
Shiahs, excepting the Huzaras under Herat, and half of those who live in Ghor- 
bund. 

The Huzaras state themselves to be descended from two brothers, Saclik Kumr 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 81 

and Satlik Soika, Sadik being a title among them. They are particularly men- 
tioned in the annals of Jingis Khan's wars; and 3000 families are said to have 
been left by this conqueror, and 1000 by Timourlane. The Huzaras themselves 
claim descent from the Toghianee Toorks: some, however, of those who live at 
Dih-Koondee deduce their lineage from a Koresh Arab; others from the Kibtee, a 
race coeval with the Jews. The Fouladee Huzaras of Hoojuristan are said to be 
so called from a daughter of Afsariab. The Shekh Ali Huzaras, according to their 
own account, have been located there from the time of Burbur the Infidel. 

The Huzaras are a race of good disposition; but are oppressed by all the neigh- 
bouring nations, whom they serve as hewers of wood and drawers of water. Many 
of them are sold into slavery; and there is little doubt that they barter their chil- 
dren for cloth and necessaries to the Uzbeks. All the drudgery and work in Ca- 
bool is clone by Huzaras, some of whom are slaves and some free: in winter there 
are not less than ten thousand who reside in the city, and gain a livelihood by 
clearing the roofs of snow and acting as porters. They make good servants; but 
in their native hills their simplicity is great. A Syud, who had been much among 
them, tells me that, if he bared his head, they did the same. They are fond of 
music. Their chiefs are called Mirs, and, towards Toorkistan, sometimes Beo-s: 
the women of rank are addressed Agha: they go unveiled, and wear two or three 
loongees on the head, like a tiara. The report which has been spread of their giv- 
ing their wives to their guests is not true of the race generally: but inquiries have 
established that it is the practice of some of the Jaghoorees, who are in conse- 
quence fast losing their Tartar features. Throughout this tribe a stranger may 
marry for a night or a week, and either leave his wife or take her along with him; 
but this is only according to Shiah usages. The property of the Huzaras consists 
of sheep; and they manufacture from their wool good carpets, and also the fabric 
called "burruk." Except in the warmer parts of their country, they have few 
gardens. They are without a chief: had this not been the case they might have 
become a powerful race, but of this there is now little probability, though they 
would, if under discipline, make brave and good soldiers. 

Note. — The following tradition, for which I am indebted to Mr. Leech, is current in 
Afghanistan regarding the Huzaras: — 

" In the time when Balkh, as well as the country now called Hazarajat, was under a 
Hindoo king called Burbur, (the remains of his imperial city of the same name are still 
to be seen near Bameean,) he bought a thousand Huzara (slaves), to throw a dam across 
the river which passed his city of Burbur, which is said to have been fed by 72 streams; 
but all his dams were carried away. Aly, the son of Aboo Taleeb, called by the Ma- 
homedans Sha i Mardan (the king of men), was one Friday returning from prayers with 
his cousin Mahomed, the Arabian Prophet, when he was accosted by a beggar, askino- for 
alms in the name of God; Aly answered he had no money, but requested the beggar to 
sell him. From this proposal the beggar recoiled with religious horror; but, on Aly in- 
sisting, he consented. Aly requested him to place his foot on his, and shut his eyes; in 
a moment the beggar was transported by the Imam to the city and kingdom of Burbur. 
The beggar took him before the king for sale, who consented to buy him for his weight 
in gold provided he would perform three acts: 1. Build a dam over the river; 2. Kill a 
dragon that infested the country; 3. Bring Aly, the cousin of the Prophet, bound before 
him. This being agreed to, the beggar bore away the enormous price of his benefactor. 
Hazrat Aly first applied himself to the building of the dam. Taking with him the thou- 
sand slaves of the king, he examined the spot: the mountain through which the river 
flowed projected over the river; with one stroke of his sword he made a huge cleft, and 
with his foot precipitated the mass into the stream so dexterously that every drop of the 
river was stopped from flowing. The slaves fled in terror to the king, and told him of 
the miracle that had been wrought. The inhabitants, seeing that Aly had done more 
than they requested, as he had not only saved the city from floods, but had cut off the 
irrigation of their lands, entreated him to plan a remedy: this he soon effected by a stroke 
of his hand, the five fingers making five sluice-gates. He afterwards killed the dragon, 
by jumping on his stomach; and brought a strip of the back for Burbur, as a trophy. The 
king asked him then to perform the third agreement: Aly requested the attendants to 



82 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

bind him, and discovered himself to Burbur, who was extremely delighted, of course, as 
he had for some time been plotting a campaign against the same Aly in his own country. 
As he was about to order him to be conveyed to prison, Aly burst his chains, and, draw- 
ing his sword, called upon them to become converts to the true faith. His sword being, 
like the shield of Achilles, of immortal workmanship, it soon effected the conversion of 
Burbur and his people. Taking the beggar with him, he^ returned to Medina, and arrived 
there three hours after his departure from that city." 



CHAPTER X. 

Our occupations at Cabool — Visit to " a Country-Gentleman" — His estate — Our party — A Mool- 
lah — His ingenuity — Visit to the Mirza — Peculiar science — Summary marriage — Riches a 
proof of ability — Ladies of Cabool — Employments — Ameer's sisters — A murder and punish- 
ment — Courageous female — The winter season — Lohanee merchants — Cruelty of the King of 
Bokhara — Horrid dungeons — Acquaintance of Mr. Elphinstone — The Ramazan — Opinions on 
death — Belief in dreams — Traditions — A Persian envoy — His adventures — Rejoicings — a Buk- 
hara merchant's tea-party. 

I tukn from distant countries to relate our own occupations at Cabool. During 
our leisure hours, and when freed from the discussions on politics, which day by 
day became more energetic and more lengthened, in consequence of the Persians 
having invested Herat, we made many new acquaintances, and visited our old ones. 
Among the latter was my Peshawur friend, Naib Mahomed Shureef, who, although 
a Kuzzilbash, appeared regardless of the dangers which threatened all his tribe from 
the vicinity of the Persians; and not only regularly visited us at our quarters, but 
invited us to his country-seat at Kurgha, eight miles from Cabool. On the 6th of 
November, Lieutenant Leech and I, gladly escaping from the bustle of the capital, 
accepted his invitation, and the Nuwab Jubar Khan, an Afghan Moollah, and two 
or three other persons from neighbouring forts, joined the party. Our host was in 
high spirits and excessively amusing. He assured us that in winter his estate was 
the warmest situation in the country, and in summer the coolest; that the view 
which it commanded of Chardih and Dih Muzung, and the valley lying between it 
and Cabool, was unrivalled; and if we objected to visit him in spring, when the 
trees were in blossom, he would tempt us out by saying that in summer the white 
leaves of the poplar rustling looked like buds; and that in winter the snow, as it 
fell in flakes on the trees, was not to be surpassed in beauty even by the peach- 
blossoms of Istalif. The house, indeed, was very agreeably situated, and com- 
manded a charming prospect, being the reverse of the one which is seen from the 
Tomb of Baber, as that celebrated spot terminates the valley. The broad acres of 
the proprietor, which he told us had cost him upwards of a lac of rupees, were 
spread out before us; whilst, equidistant from us and Cabool, lay, in our rear, the 
fine valley of Pughman. Our host placed before us an abundant breakfast of ka- 
bobs, nicely served up, to which we did the amplest justice, and whiled away the 
rest of the morning in listening to his discussions on a vast variety of subjects, for 
he was a professed talker. He gave us a detail of his numerous ailments, and his 
unsuccessful search after a cure for them, until he found it in wine, which he pro- 
nounced to be a specific for all earthly maladies. The Moollah, in some long 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 8S 

Arabic sentences, protested strenuously against the use of such unholy medicine; upon 
which Shureef quietly asked if he expected him to refrain from a remedy when he 
had one in his power, and such a remedy too! — and then launched out in praise of 
a particular vintage which he and his brother had gathered in some years before. 
He then, with many a sigh, related how he had broken all the bottles of this match- 
less wine, for grief on account of that brother's death; and how well it was remem- 
bered by everv man who had partaken of it, " Since two glasses of it set one 
asleep!" As the Naib appealed to me for my opinion on the subject, I told him 
that " Our notions of good wine consisted in being able to drink much without ex- 
periencing any bad effects." "A bad plan," said he; " for a man then must drink 
till he is as large as a butt: no, no, ours is the best test." The curiosity of the Mool- 
lah being aroused by this discussion, he begged I svould prescribe for him some- 
thing to improve his digestion, which all the party forthwith construed into a wish 
for wine, and great was the mirth which this gave rise to. The Moollah, being 
put upon his mettle, now turned his batteries of religion upon us, and poured out 
quotation upon quotation in praise of temperance and water-drinking, until he fairly 
beat us out of the field. Dinner, or rather lunch, was spread before us at about 
three o'clock, and we returned to Cabool much pleased with our party. Naib Shu- 
reef I may fairly designate as an Afghan country-gentleman. He goes to his villa 
in spring and summer, feeds his own sheep, cattle, and poultry; has a small village 
on his estate peopled by Huzaras, who assist him in his agricultural pursuits; 
burns lime on his own ground to repair his house; and has enclosed a large tract of 
ground, and planted it with fruit-trees which now produce abundantly. In this 
garden is the largest willow-tree known in the country, called, par excellence, 
" Mujnoon bed," beneath which he often seats his friends. 

At Kurgha I observed the sheep turned in upon the young wheat-fields, and 
allowed to crop them. The water is first let in upon the land to freeze, and the 
flocks then browse upon the leaves, without injuring the plants, which indeed are 
said to grow up stronger in spring in consequence of the process. The orchards 
also were receiving their last irrigation, or, as it is called, " yuhkcheeab," — ice- 
watering, — for by the first of November all the pools are frozen over. 

On my return I had a visit from an acquaintance, Moollah Khodadad, who had 
been absent from the city for a short time settling the harvest revenue. He amused 
me by recounting the mode he had adopted to escape from being the political 
representative of Dost Mahomed Khan, an honour for which he had been singled 
out in consequence of his great abilities. It seems that, after the last battle with 
the Sikhs, Kooshal Sing, one of their officers, addressed the Ameer, suggesting the 
propriety of his sending a man of rank and knowledge to Peshawur to adjust their 
differences; and Khodadad was the fortunate wight selected, he not being in Dost 
Mahomed's service, nor knowing anything about it. A whisper reached him, he 
repaired to the Bala Hissar, and the friend who sat next him told him, in Af- 
ghanee, " that they had prepared a pannier (kujawa) for him," meaning that he 
was to be sent on a journey. Dost Mahomed conversed at large on what ought to 
be done; and, at length, looking to the Moollah, but without making any allusion 
to his having been fixed upon as his representative, said that some proper person 
should be sent. " You look towards me," said the wary Moollah; " shall I say 
what I think?" "Certainly." "Well, then," said Khodadad, "you have received 
a letter, and for it you propose to send an Elchee, — a reply to a letter should be 
a letter: besides, if any one is sent to Peshawur, the people will look upon it as 
springing from fear." Some of the courtiers loudly reprobated these argument?, 
declaring that they were founded in ignorance. " How many jars of water are in 
the fountain before you?" asked Khodadad. The courtiers all declared they did 
not know. " But I do," said the Moollah. The Ameer desired him to state how 
many there were. " That, my lord," he replied, " entirely depends on the size 
of the jar employed to measure it." This indirect allusion to the want of com- 
prehension in his associates amused the Ameer and nettled them. The discussion 



84 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL, 

was broken off, and the deputation to the Sikh camp postponed sine die. It was 
only a iew months after he had got out of this dilemma that the Moollah was 
actually nominated as Elchee to proceed to the court of Moorad Beg of Koondooz. 
"Look at my fortune," said he, with facetious gravity as he told me the story: 
" first they were going to send roe to a Hindoo, and then to a robber; to make up 
for it, however, they styled me, in my credentials, 'of high rank, great fame, place, 
wealth,' and heaven knows what. Well, I thought I could make something of all 
this, so I went once more to the Bala Hissar, to converse with the Ameer. I 
observed to him that, if such titles and rank and glory were assigned to me, I had 
better be provided with equipages, attendants, and rich clothing, suitable for so 
great a man: for, as to myself, I had none of them; and that, if I went without 
them, the wise men of Koondooz would soon find out the contradictions between 
what I was and what I was said to be. I should be deemed an impostor, and his 
Highness's business would fare but badly." Dost Mahomed-, it appears, had no 
reply to make to the erudite Khodadad; and therefore sent a certain Kumber Ali 
Khan in his stead, who, being a Kuzzilbash Shiah, was but scurvily treated at the 
Koondooz court. I warned my friend the Moollah not to be too confident: he 
had twice escaped, but the third appointment might be fatal; and I predicted that, 
in spite of all his ingenuity, he would yet find himself his country's representative 
abroad. It will be seen from this long story that the honour of being an ambas- 
sador, so much sought after in Europe, has not the same attraction in Asia. If, as 
it has been said, envoys are but clever men sent abroad to lie for their country, 
we might be disposed to applaud the Moollah's modesty and unconquerable love 
of truth; but the fact is, that there is here little reward attached to the rank, and still 
less honour. An ambassador is, however, almost always certain of good treatment; 
and there is a proverb among the Afghans which enjoins it. 

The Mirza of Dost Mahomed Khan, hearing that we had so greatly enjoyed our 
visit to Kurgha, invited us to pass the day at his fort, which was called Nanuchee, 
and was situated about three miles from Cabool to the northwest, and on the verge 
of the "chumun" or meadow of Wuzeerabad. The scene differed in all its fea- 
tures from the one which we had beheld at our good friend Shureef's villa. Above 
the fort are the remains of a garden laid out by the Begum or queen of Jubangeer, 
which commands a glorious view of the lake and thesurrounding country, and is, 
perhaps, the most picturesque in the vicinity. From a hillock which is still higher 
than this garden, the eye commands at once the plains of Chardih and Wuzeera- 
bad, which the Afghans call Goolistan and Bostan. A nobler and more enchanting 
position for a residence can scarcely be imagined. Its selection does honour to the 
Begum, whose name, however, is lost in history. From the tomb of Baber to this 
garden is a favourite ride with the beau monde of the capital, who are wont first 
to visit the one and then the other, drink wine at both, and return to Cabool by 
the "chumun." Our day with the Mirza sped merrily. We had Hafizjee, the 
son of Meer Thaeez, Imam Terdi, a clever man, and several other Afghans; and 
there was much general conversation in a quiet way. As we sat at the windows 
and looked out upon the extended prospect, the sun every now and then was hid 
by clouds; and as their shadows moved across the distant hills, our friends repeat- 
edly exclaimed, " What ' Sultanut!' what majesty in nature!" with an enthusiasm 
which would have done honour to European tourists. I must not forget to men- 
tion that on this occasion I was asked as to my knowledge and belief in a science, 
which is called " Kiafa" by the Afghans, and which seems to be something be- 
tween phrenology and physiognomy: not only the eyebrows, nose, and features 
generally, but even the beard, form the discriminating marks, instead'of the bumps 
of the skull, as with our sapient professors, and the result of experience is recorded 
in sundry pithy axioms, such as the following: — A tall man with a long beard is a 
fool. A man with a beard issuing from his throat is a simpleton. An open fore- 
head bespeaks wealth and plenty. The science is further developed in various 
couplets, some of the most curious of which may thus be rendered: — 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 85 

He that has red eyes is ever ready to fight: And who has thick lips is a warrior. 

Hope for liberality from him whose arms are long: And fear not the courage of one 
with a thick waist. 

Men of small stature are often deceitful: And so are those with deep-seated eyes and 
thin noses. 

Those who have soft hair are of good disposition: But those whose locks are hard are 
otherwise. 

Open nostrils are proofs of a tyrant: And large teeth of little wisdom. 

Large ears give hopes of long life: and spare ankles of activity in the race. 

The man who has the arch of the foot large cannot walk far: But the flattened sole tires 
not. 

Having thus treated not only of the features of the face, but of nearly all the 
limbs of the body, I must lay aside the science of "Kiafa," trusting that no one 
of my- readers will find any of the unfavourable symptoms applicable to himself.* 

Not far from our residence in the Bala Hissar lived Syud Mohsun, a man of 
some influence among the Huzaras, who used frequently to visit us, and tell us 
strange stories of that simple people. The unexpected honour of marrying a 
Princess, and becoming brother-in-law of the Ameer of Cabool, had fallen upon 
him. Dost Mahomed, after he had allied himself to the family of Shah Zada 
Ablas, was afraid lest his wife's sister should marry any of his nobles, and deter- 
mined that the lady should be united to a holy man: he accordingly sent for the 
Syud to his haram, whither he had already summoned the Cazee, and without 
previously informing either party, forthwith proceeded to join them in holy wed- 
lock. The Syud at first refused, and declared that the honour was too great. This 
objection the Ameer removed by assuring him " That his fortune had predomi- 
nated!" "But," insisted the involuntary bridegroom, "I am a poor man, and 
cannot afford to clothe a Princess!" " Never mind, never mind!" replied Dost 
Mahomed, "I will do that for you;" and married they accordingly were. And 
now the Syud sorrowfully declares that he is not master of his own house. Two 
slave girls from the Huzara country attend this fair scion of royalty; and the poor 
man declares that he himself is but an upper servant. Such marriages are common 
in these countries, since Syuds and other ministers of religion, when allied to fe- 
males of royal blood, can do less political harm than other persons. At all events 
there was not much regal dignity in some of the occupations of Syud Mohsun and 
his illustrious wife, seeing that they prepared the best jelly which I tasted in Ca- 
bool, made from the sour cherry, or gean. 

Talking one day with Jubar Khan, the name of Hufa Begum, the celebrated 
queen of Shah Shoojah, who had just died, was mentioned, and a remark was made 
that she was a very clever woman, and had left a good deal of money behind her. 
"That," said the Nuwab, with grave emphasis, "is the clearest possible proof of 
her ability." I fear this is a standard by which the ladies of the western world 
have no wish to be tried. Both the Nuwab and his brother the ruler have, how- 
ever, credit for managing their ladies economically. The Nuwab, generous to a 
fault to Christian, Jew, or Mahomedan, is blamed for denying to his wives liberal 
pin-money, or, as it is amusingly called in this country, " Soorkhee-sufeedee," 
rouge and white paint allowance, with both which cosmetics the ladies here adorn 
themselves. 

But I must not thus lightly-pass over so important a part of the population of 
Cabool as the ladies. Their ghost-like figures when they walk abroad make one 
melancholy; but if all be true of them that is reported, they make ample amends 
when within doors for all % such sombre exhibitions in public. There, during the 
long winters, they gather round the " Sundlee," a kind of low square table, covered 
with cloth, and heated from below by charcoal, and tell stories and make merry. 

* A brief tract on this science seemed to me deserving of translation; and I have ac- 
cordingly given it in illustration of the modes of thinking on this subject among the 
Afghans. — Vide Appendix. 



86 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

They have a saying that the indoor joys of Cabool in winter, make every one 
regardless of the enemy without. Among the Afghans, women exercise consider- 
able influence at least: Dost Mahomed Khan, at a time when he was very anxious 
as to the conduct of his brothers at Candahar, addressed a letter to his sister, who 
was there also, and urged her to keep them in a proper course; thus proving that 
even in important matters of state their judgment and discretion are resorted to. A 
circumstance, however, occurred while we were at Cabool, which proved that one 
at least of Dost Mahomed's sisters was not a paragon of virtue. Sudoo Khan 
Barukzye, to whom she was married, was shot through the body on returning 
home at night. The assassin was secured; and, horrible to relate, confessed that 
the Chief's sister had bribed him to commit the deed. The princess fled to the 
house of a relation, and unblushingly justified her conduct, on the ground that she 
had been long barbarously used by her husband. The truth of this was not 
doubted, for he was well known to be a most depraved wretch: still nothing could 
justify so inhuman a retribution. The wounded man lingered for a day, and his 
murderer passed into eternity a few hours after him, having been cut in twe.pieces, 
one of which was gibbeted at the gate of the Bala Hissar, the other in the great 
Bazar. A butcher was the executioner. The lady, whose guilt was at least equal, 
escaped without punishment; for the Mahomedan can only shed the blood of him 
by whom man's blood has been shed. There are, however, women in these 
countries who have pre-eminently distinguished themselves by their conjugal 
devotion; and I should do wrong were I to pass over in silence Aga, the lady of 
Yezdan Bukhsh, a Huzara chief, whom Dost Mahomed Khan detained at Cabool 
as a hostage for her lord. The separation was painful to both; but particularly to 
the husband, who was accustomed, in all his difficulties, to be guided by the counsel 
of his wife; and he secretly sent messengers to her, urging her to make her escape. 
This she effected by changing her attire to that of a man, and dropping from the 
window of her prison. She then mounted a horse and fled to the Besoot country, 
between Cabool and Bameean, pursued by two of the Ameer's officers, accompanied 
by some of her husband's enemies. She was overtaken; her companion was killed, 
but she herself escaped, and reached the first fort in her own country, from the 
walls of which she defied her pursuers, proudly exclaiming, " This is the land of 
Yezdan Bukhsh!" This noble woman's husband was afterwards, as Mr. Masson 
has related, barbarously strangled' by Hajee Khan Kakur. The simplicity of his 
disposition ruined him, as it has done many of his countrymen; and, after having 
conducted the Afghans through a dangerous campaign, his life was basely taken. 

I have already stated that the water froze so early as the beginning of Novem- 
ber, and that snow fell on the hills; but on the 11th of December, after it had 
gradually stolen upon us, inch by inch, it at length fairly covered the ground in 
the city, and dusky gray clouds hid the sun. The cold became severe, and the 
whole of the population appeared clad in sheep-skins. It was a serious affair to 
our Hindoostanee attendants, and two of them fell victims to the folly of persever- 
ing in their Indian habits, and cooking their food outside the house in defiance of 
the rigours of the climate. They died of pneumonia, a disease which is very pre- 
valent in Cabool, and from which, without very active treatment, few recover. 

With the snow came the last caravan of merchants from Bokhara, principally 
composed of Lohanees. A party of these men paid me a visit, and after telling 
me all the news of that quarter, implored me to use my influence in their behalf, 
as they had most inconsiderately involved themselves in a serious difficulty. It 
appeared that after passing Bameean they had struck off from the legitimate route, 
if I may so term it, and made at once for Ghuzni, which lay on the direct road to 
their homes. But a poor government cannot afford to lose its taxes; and they 
were arrested at that town by the Ameer's son, who seized all their property, 
amounting to 6000 ducats and 4000 tillas of Bokhara. On this the government 
had a claim of one per cent., but the wjaole was confiscated; and Dost Mahomed 
quoted, in his defence for so doing, the usage of the British and Russians, who 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 87 

seize upon all smuggled goods. This argument by no means satisfied the poor 
merchants; and although I exerted all my personal influence in their behalf, it 
was only after long and vexatious delay that they obtained restitution of a quarter 
of their money, and orders on the custom-houses, payable in the ensuing year, for 
a further portion, which latter, I fear, they never received. The cash which the 
ruler had thus possessed himself of again changed masters in a few days, being 
stolen by his treasurer, whose line of argument, in defence of his conduct, was 
that his pay was in arrear. Dost Mahomed, however, did not relish this imitative 
spirit; and the treasurer was apprehended and about to be put to death, when the 
Nuwab, ever active on the side of mercy, said he ought to be pardoned; that so 
bad a man as he was ought never to have been trusted, and that great part of the 
blame rested upon those who had employed him. This reasoning had its effect, 
and he was dismissed with a sound drubbing. 

The Lohanees described the king of Bokhara as having become tyrannous and 
headstrong: he had degraded his minister, the Koosh Begee, and had refused the 
Hindoos? leave to burn their dead, because, on being asked their creed, they had 
said they were " Ibrahamees," or followers of Abraham. He had also, without 
any show of reason, caused all Mahomedans trading with Hindoo partners to be 
doubly taxed. Having discovered an intrigue between a baker's daughter and a 
Hindoo, he ordered both parties to be baked in the oven, although in his own 
person he held out the worst possible example to his subjects. It is, however, to 
be doubted if he is altogether in his senses. His acts of tyranny are so audacious 
and so numerous, that I have never ceased to congratulate myself at having passed 
so successfully through his kingdom. In espionage he appears even to surpass 
the Chinese. From these men I received an account of the horrid dungeons in 
Bokhara, known by the title of " Kuna-Khanu," Kuna being the name of the 
creatures which attach themselves to dogs and sheep (Anglice ticks), and which 
here thrive on the unhappy human beings who are cast in among them. The 
dungeons abound also in scorpions, fleas, and all kinds of vermin; and if human 
subjects happen to be deficient, goats or the entrails of animals are thrown in to 
feed them; so that the smell alone is in the highest degree noxious. One day 
suffices to kill any criminal who is cast into those horrid dens, and a confinement 
of a few hours leaves marks which are never effaced in after life. The situation 
of the dungeons is below the ark or citadel in which the king resides. 

One of the traders to Bokhara was the Moollah Nujeeb, an old friend of Mr. 
Elphinstone's, and to whom, through the influence of that gentleman, a pension 
has been granted by our government. I had many conversations with Nujeeb, 
who was never weary of enlarging on the talents and virtues of his patron, or in 
expressing his admiration of what he denominated " the greatness of the English 
nation." It appears that when his pension was first conferred upon him he wrote 
to Mr. Elphinstone, to know " what kind of political information was expected 
from him in return." Mr. Elphinstone told him in reply, that " he wished oc- 
casionally to hear from him as. to the state of his eyes, and that he hoped the 
spectacles he had given him enabled him to see better." 

This indifference to passing events, and still more, this renunciation of what 
throughout all Asia is considered as the grand and legitimate mode of obtaining 
political information, had sunk deep into Nujeeb's mind, and again and again did 
he advert to this surprising proof of " the greatness of the English nation." There 
is certainly a striking difference between the avowed system of morals of the Af- 
ghans and the Europeans. The former seem to consider anything that is done 
amiss in secret as nothing; and it is only when discovery follows crime that they 
regret its commission. Their standard of morality would appear to consist, not in 
avoiding error, but in avoiding its discovery; and it is a common expression with 
them, that " Such a one was my friend: he did not take the screen from my mis- 
conduct." It was not wonderful, therefore, that the Moollah should consider it 
the acme of morality in his patron not to ask him to offend even secretly against 
the state under which he was living. 



88 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

The Ramazan, which had commenced with December, was rigidly kept. A 
gun was fired long before dawn, to rouse the faithful from their slumbers, that they 
might eat before the crier announced the hour of prayer. This fasting had blanched 
the cheeks of many of my visitors; and observing this, I asked one of them, a 
Moollah, "If it was not a severe penance?" he replied, " No: I am a mere worm, 
addicted to food; and hence the change which you remark in my countenance." 
Having upon this incidentally observed, that " All of us would shortly become food 
for worms," the holy man expressed his unbounded admiration of this trite truth. 
I, in my turn, was pleased with an expression which he used when I asked him 
if he had any children. " Two," was his reply; " the rest have gone before 
me." There was a tranquil sorrow and a simplicity in his manner of saying these 
few words which struck me greatly. 

Death and futurity form a frequent subject of conversation among the Afghans, 
as indeed they do with all nations. On one occasion I was much interested by 
the discourse of an old merchant, who visited me shortly after he had lost his 
daughter. In the failure of all medical treatment, he had, a few days before her 
dissolution, removed her from her husband's house to his own, in the hope that 
the air and the climate in which she had been born and reared might restore sink- 
ing nature. It was the will of God that it should be otherwise, and the spirit of 
his child fled whilst she was repeating some lines from " Musnumee," a philoso- 
phical poem, which he had taught her in early youth. The last lines she uttered 
related to eternity. The parent assured me that many circumstances which had 
occurred subsequently to her death had afforded him consolation and reconciled 
him to his loss. One of his neighbours had dreamed that this beloved daughter 
was remarried, and in great prosperity. He himself had dreamt that his forefathers 
had sent for his daughter, and were overjoyed at receiving her. Other circum- 
stances had occurred of a soothing nature: the shroud in lVlahomedan countries is 
tied at the head, and when the body is deposited in the earth it is opened, that the 
relatives may take the last look and turn the head towards Mecca. In the case of 
this young woman, it was found that the face was already turned in the right direc- 
tion. The priest who had been reading the Koran over the grave had fallen asleep, 
and dreamed that the deceased had declared herself overjoyed at the happy change. 
I found that the narrative of all these circumstances received the most serious atten- 
tion, and thus dreams and omens working on the father's mind had yielded him 
consolation; and why should we deny peace of mind to an afflicted parent by seek- 
ing to destroy their effect? 

The Afghans place implicit reliance on dreams. A Moollah of Cabool once 
told me that "dreams are the soul in flight without the body; and," added he, 
"physicians may say, if it please them, that they arise from digestive derange- 
ment, but no such paradise could spring from causes so material. It is in dreams 
that we find the clearest proof of an Omnipotent Providence." 

There are many other superstitions among these people, and almost every hill 
in the country has its legend attached to it. A village near Cabot i the name 

of "Chihil-Dookhteran," or the Forty Daughters; and tradition runs mat, on one 
occasion, when the Kaffirs from the mountains made an inroad on the plain, forty 
virgins were preserved from violence by being transformed into stones; and that 
the identical forty stones are visible to this day. Eastward of this same village 
lies the "Koh-i-Krook," or hunting preserve of the kings of Cabool: a miraculous 
tale is connected with this ground. The story goes, that in days of yore a certain 
king pressed a herd of deer in this very preserve so closely that they rushed 
straight to his seraglio, where his lovely queens and ladies were adorning them- 
selves in fine apparel, and putting rings into their ears and noses, and set them all 
running wild over the country. The Afghans, it will be perceived, are not deficient 
in the imaginative faculties, and they may be quoted as a proof that invention pre- 
cedes judgment. 

But to return to the things of the earth and its inhabitants as we now find them. 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 89 

On the 14th of December I received a visit from my quondam fellow-traveller, 
Mahomed Hoosan, who had since been the Elchee from the chief of Cabool to 
the king of Persia; from which country he had returned, bringing with him a 
Persian ambassador, whom he had left at Candahar, whilst he himself came on to 
Cabool to report progress. The Elchee had gone to Persia to sue for an alliance, 
but he had experienced nothing but disappointmant and neglect. I laughed heartily 
at the man's adventures, which, although they had been very far from agreeable, 
he detailed with infinite gaiety and humour. He narrowly escaped death at Soonee 
Bokhara, merely because he had sought to bring about an alliance with Shiah Per- 
sia: at the court of Shah the ministers had tried to poison him for telling the plain 
truth, that an army and guns would be useless in opposing the roving Toorkumuns, 
against whom his majesty had proceeded; and at the capitol the royal favour was 
altogether denied him because he had gone to the English ambassador's quarters, 
instead of those tardily assigned to him by an unfriendly minister. In Persia diffi- 
culties had beset him at every step. Once before he had been obliged to leave the 
country, and now, after a nine years' absence, his enemies again rose up against 
him, but here his ambassadorship saved him. In' his journey back to Afghanistan 
he had been exposed to many perils, whilst pursuing the unfrequented route through 
Bum-Nurmansheer and Seistan to the river Helmund, down which he was carried 
three fursukhs by a flood, and was left for two days without food. Near Herat he 
was threatened by Kamran, as well as by robbers; at Candahar the Sirdars slighted 
him; and, the unkindest cut of all, Dost Mahomed would send no one to conduct 
the ambassador whom my unfortunate friend had brought with so much trouble 
and difficulty from the " centre of the universe." Such was the tissue of com- 
plaints which he poured forth, calling the chief of Cabool a knave, his courtiers 
no men, and the whole nation a mass of Afghan stupidity. He said that at the 
Persian court Mirza Aghassee was supreme, owing to his having made some 
lucky guesses, during the youth of the present Shah, regarding his accession to 
the throne. 

The worst of all poor Mahomed Hoosan's misfortunes was, that, having once 
been an Elchee, he did not deem himself at liberty to walk as a common man in 
the bazaar; and thus his dignity had destroyed his comfort. I told him that he had 
nothing else for it but to follow the European model, and write his travels; or, in 
Indian phrase, " Take walk and write book." He took my advice, and some time 
afterwards presented me with a small volume full to overflowing of unique adven- 
tures. He had ample leisure for his literary labours, as he was all but confined to 
his house by the Ameer; and although he declared positively that he would perform 
no further service, nor have anything more to do with embassies, he still lived 
in perpetual terror of being called upon to accept office, and punished, he knew not 
to what extent, if he refused to do so. He told me a story of a man whose misfor- 
tunes, he said, resembled his own. A certain king quarrelled with his vizier, and 
ordered him to be kept in confinement; to cheer his solitude, however, he sent him 
a companion. The vizier began to read the Koran aloud, with great gravity 
and emphasis, and his visitor began to cry. " What may be the particular pas- 
sage," asked the minister, " that excites you so much, my good friend?" The 
simple-hearted man replied, " Oh, my Lord, when I look at you reading, and see 
your beard moving, I think of a favourite goat I have got at home; and then I remem- 
ber that I am obliged to attend on your highness, and am shut out from all my do- 
mestic comforts." " Thus," said the Elchee, " it is with me and the Afghans. I 
am amongst them against my will; and it would be less irksome to me to pound 
the nine mountains in a mortar, or circumambulate the globe a dozen times, than to 
continue here." 

On the 29th of December the " eed" terminated at midnight. A man ran in 

from the Kohistan, and swore, before the Cazee, that he had seen the moon 

twenty-nine days ago, whereas this was but the twenty-eighth day of its age. 

Not a moment was lost in proclaiming the joyful news and the end of the fast; 

7 



90 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

salutes were fired at the dead of night, the people yelled and shouted, and I started 
out of bed, believing, at the very least, that the city was sacked. 

During the festivities that followed, Budro Deen, the great Bokhara merchant, 
invited lis to dinner, and entertained us with singers, and with the " suntoor," a 
triangular musical instrument with innumerable wires, an importation from Cash- 
mere which I had not before seen. The Nuwab Jubar Khan was present, as well 
as several other persons. The dinner was well arranged and excellent, and we had 
songs in many languages. The Pooshtoo is softer when sung than when spoken; 
but Hindoostanee is the favourite language with the Afghans, having, to use their 
own phrase, " more salt in it." After dinner the hospitable Bokhara merchant 
dilated on the good qualities of his tea, and insisted on giving it to us in the real or- 
thodox style. He accordingly commenced operations, stirred the fire almost out, 
and placed the kettle upon it, but for a long time he could not manage to make it boil. 
At last, when he had succeeded, he put the tea into the pot, covered the lid with a 
cloth, and, not satisfied with this, planted the teapot itself in the fire, as he had 
done the kettle, and finally produced a beverage which certainly was of a superior 
quality, and which we all drank of, and praised to his heart's content. The Nuwab 
drank away at a great rate, and declared that he had never before taken so much. 
The man of tea, however, urged us on to farther indulgence, telling us that at 
Bokhara, which is the fountain of tea, the repast always concluded with "tulkh 
chah," or tea without sugar. The good Nuwab declared "He would not drink 
tea without sugar; that it was impossible for him to drink any more with it, and 
doubly impossible for him to drink any more without it." "We all laughed loud 
and long at this sally, and returned to our homes at a brisk trot, through the quiet 
city, under a clear sky and frosty night, much pleased with our party and with 
our host. 



CHAPTER XL 

Russian agent, Lieutenant Vilkievitch— Distribution of our party— Vicinity of Cabool— Pillars 
of Chukreea — Mr. Masson's researches — Ancient history of Cabool — Idols and Hindoo re- 
mains— Gurdez— Geographical memoirs — Dialects— Herat— Major Pottinger— Delay in In. 
dian courts— Kuzzilbash secretaries— A Moollah's tenets— Mode of lighting houses— Mild 
Winter— Early Spring— Idle habits— The Ameer's position— Change of policy— My departure 
from Cabool— Arrival at Je!aMa\biid— River of Cabool— Our rafts— The Shutee Gurdun— 
Peshawur — Arrival at Lahore — Runjeet Sing — Join the Governor-General at Simla. 

In the midst of these amusements the arrival of a Russian officer produced a 
considerable sensation at Cabool: almost immediately on his entering the city 
" le Lieutenant Vilkievitch Polonois" paid me a visit, and on the day after his 
arrival, which happened to be Christmas-day, I invited him to dinner. He was 
a gentlemanly and agreeable man, of about thirty years of age, and spoke Fre :sh, 
Turkish, and Persian fluently, and wore the uniform of an officer of Cossacks, 
which was a novelty in Cabool. He had been three times at Bokhara, and we 
had therefore a common subject to converse upon, without touching on politics. 
I found him intelligent and well informed on the subject of Northern Asia. He 
very frankly said that it was riot the custom of Russia to publish to the world the 
result of its researches in foreign countries, as was the case with France and 



BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 95 

buys it; but his conduct is at variance with his proverb: greater reforms have, 
however, been made in society than that of weaning an Afghan from his evil habits; 
time and circumstances have rendered them familiar to him, and time and circum- 
stances may also efface them. 

The ruler of Cabool, Dost Mahomed Khan, partook at this time of the im- 
patience common to his nation; and, some may perhaps say, not without suffi- 
cient cause. Herat was closely besieged by Persia. Should it fall, the danger 
to Candahar and Cabool was apparent: should it be successful, and repulse Persia, 
that danger still existed to Cabool. The British government, confident in the 
success of its measures in Persia, placed no value on an Afghan alliance. Fear, 
therefore, overtook Dost Mahomed, and it was seconded by appeals to his inte- 
rest; and thus two of the most powerful motives which influence the human 
mind inclined the chief to look for support to the west instead of the east. Hav- 
ing clearly ascertained that such were his views, there was no room for doubt as 
to the line of conduct which it was expedient for me to adopt; and I accordingly 
intimated to him my intention of returning to India. He expressed great regret 
at my decision; and when, on the 26th of April, I finally quitted Cabool, he was 
profuse in his professions of personal friendship and regard. Mr. Masson ac- 
companied me, as he conceived that his position in Cabool would not be safe 
after my departure, and under the circumstances which led to it. We reached 
Juhilabad on the 30th of April, and were hospitably received by the Ameer's son, 
Akbar Khan, and by whom, as I have before mentioned, I had been received with 
great pomp and splendour on entering Cabool, on the 20th of September. 

I was anxious to examine the river of Cabool, and resolved, therefore, to 
descend it upon rafts: two days were spent in their preparation. More pains 
were bestowed to effect this than I had anticipated. About eighty skins were 
used for each raft; but only a fourth part of these were inflated; the rest were 
stuffed with straw, spars were placed across, and the whole bound together by a 
floating frame-work. When the paddles are used, the motion of the raft is 
circular, the great object being to keep it in the force of the stream. 

On the 3d of May we set sail, and reached Lalpoor, which is half-way to Pe- 
shawur, in seven hours: here we halted for the night, and were hospitably enter- 
tained by the Momund chief. Next day we prosecuted our voyage, and in eight 
hours reached Muttee, in the plain of Peshawur, where there were elephants, 
palanquins, and horses, waiting to convey us to the hospitable mansion of Gene- 
ral Avitabile. 

The excitement in descending the river Cabool is greater than the danger; 
nevertheless, considerable care and dexterity are required to avoid the projecting 
rocks, and the whirlpools which they form. We were caught in one of them, 
called Fuzl: one raft revolved in it for two hours; and it was only extricated by the 
united exertions of the crews of the other rafts. The Camel's Neck, or the far- 
famed " Shoothur Gurdun," presented an appearance, as we approached it, so 
grand and impressive, that it will never be effaced from my memory. We had 
dropped down the river for half an hour, under heavy clouds; precipitous rocks 
rose some thousand feet high on either side; and the stream was deep and glassy. 
At length we saw, at the termination of a long vista which lay before us, the 
water boiling, or rather heaving itself up. Before we reached this point the rain 
fell in torrents, the lightning flashed, and tremendous claps of thunder reverberated 
frc i cliff to cliff. In the midst of this storm we passed down the rapids, the 
waier dashing wildly upon us, and the wind roaring and hissing through the 
•gether was sublime, almost terrific. On the banks of the 
washing the sand for gold in the usual manner, the ope- 
in wooden trays. I heard from them that in the Oxus and 
to spread out and fix bushy sheep-skins in the bed of the 
it passed over them, leaves the pure particles of gold, free 



96 BURNES' JOURNEY TO CABOOL. 

from extraneous substances; the skins are then dried in the sun, and the precious 
metal collected from them. If I remember rightly, a similar plan was adopted by- 
some of the nations of antiquity. 

The reception given me at Peshawur by my old friends, Generals Allard, Avi- 
tabile, and Court, was kind in the extreme, and their agreeable society made up 
in some degree for the absence of my fellow-travellers, Dr. Lord and Lieutenant 
Wood. Both those gentlemen, however, joined me on the 16th of May, having 
reached Cabool four days after I had left it; and having, like myself, descended 
the river. Our meeting was one of unmixed satisfaction. Prior to my departure 
from Cabool I transmitted instructions to Lieutenant Leech to leave Candahar and 
proceed by Kelat-i-Nusseer, and one of the great passes through the hills, to Shi- 
karpoor. He performed the journey in safety, and I joined him at that place in 
the October following. 

Towards the end of May an express arrived from government, directing me to 
repair with all convenient speed to the court of Lahore, to consult with Mr. (now 
Sir William) Macnaghten, who was then on a mission there, on the critical state 
of our affairs westward of the Indus. We lost no time in obeying the summons; 
reached Attock by water on the same day that we left Peshawur (the 31st), and 
joined the party at Lahore on the 17th of June, having performed the journey 
chiefly during the nights. I hastened to pay my respects to the Maharaja; and 
found him changed in all things but his kindness. Runjeet Sing was now totter- 
ing on the brink of the grave. It is unnecessary for me to give any details of the 
mission then at his court, as the Honourable Captain Osborne has already laid an 
able account of it before the public. 

A short month's stay at Lahore served to accomplish the ends which govern- . 
ment had then in view. The ulterior measures could only be matured at Simla, 
whither I proceeded by invitation, to wait on Lord Auckland, to whom I paid my 
respects on the 20th of July, accompanied only by Dr. Lord, Lieutenant Wood 
having again returned to the Indus. And thus terminated my mission to Cabool. 



THE END. 




U^ 



PERSONAL NARRATIVE 



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Complete in One Volume, 750 gages, 8Vb. H&H&J Edition, Price 50 cents. 
« We look back to the opinion we expressed when this writer made his debut, with increased satisfacti 
from the firm conviction that he has hardly a rival in that free, manly, dashing style of sketching life, manne 
and humorous incidents, to which he has devoted himself. Charles O'Malley is, to our thinking, the cleveret 
number of any periodical work, the production of a single pen, which hass yet come before us.— Pickwick. 
Nicklebys, Poor Jacks, &c, all included." — United Service Gazette. 

JACK HINTON, THE GUARDSMAN, 

BY THE AUTHOR OF CHARLES O'MALLEY. 

Complete in One Volume. Price 50 cents. 

" The two greatest fiction writers of the age are Dickens and Harry Lorrequer. Their works have givi 
birth to a new school of novelists, and to a new era in our literature." — Fife Herald. 

" We do not know a more spirited and engrossing work, and plead guilty to being among the most imp 
tient and insatiable of its devourers." — Scottish Standard. 

" This is decidedly the pleasantest book of the time."— Liverpool Courier. 

" These admirable sketches keep pace with the previous portions in vigour of diction, attraction of incide 
and racy colloquies, sparkling with wit and humour." — Caledonian Mercury. 

Gjf* Carey <$• Hart also publish an edition of the above Works with Illustrations by Phiz, at $1 each volur 

' Til WNILi 

COMPLETE IN THREE LARGE OCTAVO VOLL 

OF 

Upwards of Fifteen Hundred Pages, Large Type, 

NOW RfiADY, FOR 

1 50. 



A remittance of $5 will pay for FOUR copies of the COMPJ 
^Lorrequer," in 3 volumes, originally published at 






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